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France faces a wave of cyberattacks targeting physical infrastructure and financial systems, including remote temperature manipulation in supermarket refrigerators, a breach of regional blood storage facilities, and the theft of corporate funds.
In mid-October 2026, unidentified hackers accessed refrigerator and freezer control systems across hundreds of supermarkets in France from a distance, causing temperatures to surge up to 50 degrees Celsius.
The incident spoiled food items and sparked fires in some locations, impacting major chains including Les Mousquetaires (Intermarche) with about 150 stores affected, Carrefour with roughly 80 stores, Monoprix with approximately 25 stores (or 5 percent of its 490 total stores in France), and Coopérative U. Intermarche CEO Thierry Cotillard estimated losses in the tens of millions of euros, while the Paris Prosecutor’s Office categorized the incident as large-scale and the French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) intervened.
Preliminary checks pointed to security flaws in systems manufactured by Danish engineering firm Danfoss, which suspected outdated firmware as a primary trigger. Intruders altered temperature settings in the monitoring system from about minus 30 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius (though this was an adjusted control figure rather than the actual temperature reached inside the freezer), but staff detected the increase early and the French Ministry of Health confirmed operations remained uninterrupted.
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported that hackers stole the funds and laundered a portion through cryptocurrency platforms using stablecoins, though the bank did not confirm the exact stolen sum (declining to comment on whether the funds were in cryptocurrency), stated the figure was lower than media reports suggested, and noted that the scale was not enough to shake the group’s financial strength and health, with a bank spokesperson stating that it was still too early to provide an exact figure.
Credit Mutuel Arkea serves millions of clients with substantial assets, making it a major French financial firm though much smaller than BNP Paribas or Societe Generale. The Paris Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the case.
CISA Deputy Executive Director for Cybersecurity Chris Butera urged organizations relying on refrigeration systems to assume they could be targets, FBI Cyber Division Operations Director Brett Leatherman noted that such systems are targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally, and the US urged operators to disconnect devices from the public internet, isolate them from company networks, and apply software updates.
At least three hacking incidents have struck commercial refrigerators and freezers in recent months, including Pentagon investigators looking into mysterious disruptions at grocery units on a US military base in August, alongside the large-scale French freezer hacks and a second wave hitting over 100 European stores.
