Hackers Destroyed Millions in Food by Remotely Overheating French Supermarkets

Hackers just carried out what is being called the most alarming food security cyberattack Europe has ever seen, and the method they used is as unsettling as the damage they caused. Over the weekend, cybercriminals remotely accessed refrigeration management software that is used across hundreds of French supermarkets and deliberately triggered continuous defrost cycles throughout the systems. Freezers and refrigerators across multiple locations heated to 122 degrees Fahrenheit and held there for hours, systematically destroying millions of euros worth of fresh produce, dairy, meat and frozen goods in the process. The physical damage did not stop at spoiled food. Fires broke out in some stores as a direct result of the overheating equipment, adding another layer of danger to what was already a serious and coordinated attack on critical retail infrastructure. Paris prosecutors have now opened a formal criminal investigation into the incident. The software company whose systems were exploited confirmed that attackers targeted outdated firmware within its platform, and acknowledged that it had long advised its retail clients to update their systems to close known vulnerabilities. Many of those stores had not followed that guidance, leaving the door open for exactly this kind of attack. What makes this incident particularly disturbing, beyond the scale of the destruction, is how the French retail industry chose to describe it. Quote: “It steals nothing but destroys everything.” No ransom demand. No data theft. No financial extortion. Just deliberate, calculated sabotage of a food supply chain. So we want to know — does a cyberattack that targets food supplies concern you more than one targeting financial systems? And do you think supermarkets and retailers need to be held to much higher mandatory cybersecurity standards? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to like, share and follow The Bikini Report for your daily headlines!

Naked News is a Canadian news and entertainment program by Naked Broadcasting Network. It features nude female news presenters…Watch on SloppBoxx.Com.

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!