Cyberattack Disrupts French Supermarket Refrigeration Systems

A cyberattack targeting supermarket refrigeration systems in France has disrupted food storage at major grocery chains, potentially spoiling large quantities of perishable products. The incident, reported on October 12, 2026, has affected Intermarché, E.Leclerc, and Système U, with hackers allegedly manipulating cooling controls to trigger continuous defrosting at temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius.

According to RetailDetail, approximately 150 Intermarché supermarkets have been affected, making the chain the hardest-hit retailer identified so far. E.Leclerc and Système U have also reported problems, although the total number of affected locations remains unclear.

Tom's Hardware reported that the compromised equipment includes refrigeration controls manufactured by Danfoss. The technology is also used by independent grocery businesses, including butcher shops, potentially extending the disruption beyond the major supermarket chains.

The attack appears to have altered automatic defrosting functions that would normally operate for approximately two hours per day. Instead, the affected systems were reportedly configured to run continuously, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius, threatening refrigerated and frozen food stocks.

According to Tom's Hardware, sources described the resulting conditions as "a wave of heat" escaping from refrigerators and freezers. In the worst-affected stores, Système U may have to discard all products requiring refrigeration, according to News.az.

Financial damage could be substantial. Early estimates cited by Tom's Hardware placed losses at nearly 300,000 euros, with the nationwide total potentially reaching several million euros. News.az reported that individual affected stores could face losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of euros.

Dominique Schelcher, president of Système U, confirmed that the incident had affected refrigeration operations across several stores in the network.

"A cyberattack has been affecting the refrigeration production facilities of several stores in our network since last night," said Dominique Schelcher, president of Système U.

Schelcher said response teams had been mobilized to address the disruption and that an investigation would follow. He characterized the incident as "extremely serious."

A separate cybersecurity incident has also disrupted retail operations in the Netherlands, where Albert Heijn, Etos, and Gall & Gall experienced website outages affecting deliveries, according to NOS, as cited by Tom's Hardware. Electronic shelf labels were also affected, causing in-store pricing problems and disrupting customer loyalty programs.

Albert Heijn said it had taken immediate steps to secure its information technology systems, including temporarily shutting down some services as a precaution.

"We have immediately taken measures to protect our IT environment. Part of this involves the preventive temporary shutdown of a number of systems," Albert Heijn said in a statement.

Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize, which belongs to the same corporate group as Albert Heijn, also reported disruption. Images shared online showed notices at stores in Amsterdam warning customers about pricing problems.

It remains unclear whether the incidents affecting French refrigeration systems and Dutch retail services are connected. Investigators have not established the full scope of either incident, and the total number of affected businesses and financial losses remains uncertain.