A cyberattack damages the food of dozens of supermarkets in France, Belgium and the Netherlands

BarcelonaA cyberattack has affected supermarkets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, causing multi-million dollar losses due to fresh and frozen products that have spoiled. In the case of France, hackers managed to enter the remote control system of the refrigeration units and triggered a rapid defrost program, which caused the establishments' freezers to reach 50 degrees. Consequently, all the products have spoiled. In contrast, the effects in Belgium and the Netherlands have been minor.

The president of the French group Les Mousquetaires, Thierry Cotillard, one of those affected, has estimated the damages at "several tens of millions of euros on a national scale," and has described it as a "catastrophe" that highlights "a vulnerability problem" that threatens "food sovereignty." Cotillard believes the attack may have an economic motive and that the hackers could demand a ransom from the affected companies, but he has not ruled out that it could be "a means of political destabilization." "If France is not supplied by its supermarkets, the people would be hungry, and a hungry people goes to revolution. It would be a catastrophe," predicted the executive, who warned of the threat that a similar attack could happen again.

"Attacking equipment essential to the preservation of fresh products and the food supply of the French people is of extreme gravity, and it is an unprecedented event. It is unacceptable," wrote the head of the Coopérative U supermarkets, Dominique Schelcher, on X. In addition to his chain and Intermarché, the attack has affected stores of Netto, Leclerc, Monoprix, and, according to some media, also some Carrefour supermarkets.

Investigation underway

The French government has opened an investigation, aimed primarily at detecting possible security failures at the Danish company Danfoss, which is responsible for the cooling systems of the affected establishments. Sources from the executive have indicated that Paris is in contact with other European Union countries that may have been affected.

In Belgium and the Netherlands, the cyberattack has affected the groups Ahold Delhaize and Albert Heijn. Specifically, Ahold Delhaize, which is one of the largest food distribution and supermarket groups in the world, noted in a statement that its teams are taking "measures to assess and mitigate" a "security issue on its network," which has forced them to "disconnect some systems to protect them." Its stores have remained open, but the chain's CEO, Margaret Versteden-Van Duijn, pointed out in statements to the NOS network that "there is a risk of finding empty shelves" this Tuesday due to blockages at distribution centers, especially regarding fresh products.

In contrast, regarding the Dutch company Albert Heijn, its customers have been unable to benefit from discounts and have experienced problems at self-checkout registers.

The European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, has condemned the attacks on the social network X, called for increased vigilance, and warned that "the instrumentalization of food has become a reality".