On October 12, 2026, a customer enters the Intermarche supermarket in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux after a refrigerator defrosts after the French supermarket chain Intermarche and Cooperative U suffered a cyber attack.
Dimitar Dirkov | AFP | Getty Images
Hackers reportedly targeted hundreds of French supermarkets in a cyber attack that caused refrigerators and freezers to overheat, spoil food and cause fires.
Refrigerators at French supermarket chains Carrefour, Monoprix, Les Mousquetaires’ Intermarche and Cooperative U were seen heating up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight, Reuters reported on Monday.
Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Coopérative U, confirmed that the cyberattack affected “refrigerated production facilities in multiple stores.”
“This attack on equipment essential to preserving fresh food and feeding the French people is extremely serious and unprecedented. It is unacceptable,” Schelcher said in a LinkedIn post.
CNBC reached out to Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarché, Cooperative U and E. Leclerc for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
According to a Reuters article, Felix Emme, senior cyber threat intelligence analyst at Sekoia Threat Detection and Research, said the attack affected several European countries, including Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany and Belgium.
“I strongly condemn the food cyberattack in @intermarche@CooperativeU@Leclec,” European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christoph Hansen said in a post on X on Monday.
“Food security requires increased attention at all levels, as the weaponization of food is a reality.”
