Recent cyberattacks have severely disrupted supermarket chains across Europe, particularly refrigeration systems in many French stores. This incident prompted a major grocery retailer to temporarily shut down its websites serving customers in both Europe and the United States.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told Parliament that the attack has affected about 700 of the country’s 10,000 supermarkets. While he assured that there is no immediate risk to France’s food supplies, he acknowledged that the situation “touches the heart of our food security” and deemed it a significant wake-up call for all involved.
The Paris prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation through its cybercrime unit to assess the extent of the damage, including potential food spoilage and fire incidents. Groupement Mousquetaires, a prominent French supermarket group operating over 4,000 stores throughout Europe, reported that 300 of its Intermarché and Netto stores were affected, resulting in several refrigerated and frozen food display cases being out of service.
Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Cooperative U, said 80 of the company’s 2,000 stores experienced disruptions. While most stores maintained refrigeration, some had to dispose of perishable items. He expressed concern regarding the targeting of equipment vital for preserving fresh products, describing it as an unprecedented, extremely serious, and unacceptable attack on the French food supply chain.
Additionally, Carrefour and Monoprix supermarkets have also reported being affected. Danish technology company Danfoss, which provides refrigeration management software, said most impacted systems were older models that no longer receive necessary software or security updates. Danfoss stressed the importance of keeping supported systems updated with the latest firmware and recommended operating behind a firewall. The company is working closely with affected customers to mitigate the damage.
In a separate development, Dutch supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize said it is restoring systems that were temporarily shut down due to a security issue. Ahold Delhaize, which operates well-known brands such as Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, Delhaize in Belgium, and Stop & Shop in the United States, has not provided further specifics regarding the incident. While several brands’ websites, including Stop & Shop, Food Lion, and Albert Heijn, remain offline, the physical stores continue to operate normally.
The company confirmed no evidence of customer or employee data being compromised, emphasising that protecting its infrastructure for customers, associates, and partners remains a top priority. Ahold Delhaize also apologised for any inconvenience this situation may have caused.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
