Mass fridge hack in France causes millions in damage and fires

Earlier this week, a mass hack of refrigeration systems at an estimated 700 supermarkets in France caused them to malfunction, leading to spoilage of untold tons of perishables and, in some cases, fires. According to Ars Technica, the attackers compromised Internet‑connected controllers that allow technicians to remotely administer store‑wide systems. The attack activated defrosters long enough for the fridges to reach temperatures as high as 50° Celsius (122° Fahrenheit).

The compromised controllers were sold by Danfoss of Denmark and Dixell and its parent company Copeland in the US. Ars Technica reports that all three models contained critical vulnerabilities that allow attackers to remotely log in with the same rights as administrators. Until recently, Danfoss controllers used a daily password generated by publicly available firmware based on the date, which attackers could replicate on any device that had not received a recent update.

The incident likely cost tens or hundreds of millions of euros, according to Ars Technica. In addition to spoilage, some stores' electrical systems caught fire. The hack also affected stores in Spain, Portugal, Poland, Germany, and Belgium, as reported by the outlet.

Researchers at Pen Test Partners said that cyber hygiene would have prevented the access, citing the need to take the controller off the public internet, use a VPN and an IP allowlist, and patch to a current release. Claroty warned of the threat of ignoring these steps last October, and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a similar warning in February. Copeland acknowledged a vulnerability in a discontinued, end‑of‑life generation of controllers and said it is working with customers to prevent similar incidents.