A surprising case has come to light in France. There was a major cyberattack on the refrigeration systems of hundreds of supermarkets here on Monday. Due to this, the temperature of fridges and freezers of more than 480 shops reached 50 degrees Celsius. According to French media reports, hackers put the refrigeration systems of several stores into defrosting mode. Shopkeepers said that due to this cyber attack, fresh and frozen food got spoiled. Due to which they had to suffer huge losses. Many stores also caught fire. Big French retail companies have described this as the first such attack ever and a very serious one.
Prime Minister ordered investigation
French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu has ordered an investigation by the National Cybersecurity Agency ANSSI. France is also investigating along with other European countries whether more companies there have been affected. The Paris Prosecutor's Office called it a large-scale attack. According to the office, internet-connected fridges of several large food retailers across France were targeted.
After all, how was the temperature of these fridges increased?
Refrigerators and freezers in supermarkets are usually operated from a control panel. These panels control the entire store's cooling system. Being connected to the internet, maintenance companies can change their settings even from a distance. If a hacker manages to access this system, he can change the settings of the fridge and freezer. To do this, the hacker takes advantage of any weakness present in the security of the system. In this way it can reduce the coldness of the fridge and freezer or start defrosting. Defrosting is the process in which frozen ice in the refrigerator or freezer is melted.
Malfunction in refrigerator controlling software of Danish company
According to an official of the Prime Minister's Office, France's cyber security agency has identified a weakness in the software of Danish company Danfoss. The refrigerator and freezer of the supermarket are controlled by the system made by this company.
Danfoss said it is aware of some incidents involving fridge and freezer systems in France. According to the company, the old version of the software was being used. The company said that it has been advising customers to keep software updated for a long time and replace old equipment.
Earlier on August 9, cyber security company Claroty had released a report on some vulnerabilities present in Danfoss' system. It was told that by taking advantage of these vulnerabilities, attackers can access the system without proper identity verification. FCD, an organization associated with French retail business, has demanded from Danfoss to make public the complete information in this matter.
Retail companies said – loss of several crores of euros
The total figure of loss suffered by the entire retail sector has not been revealed yet. However, Thierry Cottier, CEO of French retail company Intermarché, said that this attack could cause a loss of several million euros in a single day across the country.
Intermarché told AFP that affected stores would have to throw away all spoiled fresh and frozen products. At the same time, Dominic Shelcher, CEO of another company, Cooperative UK, said that the company was facing problems in its refrigeration system since Sunday night.
He said that targeting the system that keeps fresh goods safe and delivers food items to people is very serious. He called it unacceptable and said that such an attack had never happened before.
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