Hack wiped fridges at 250-350 French supermarkets: unpatched Danfoss controllers exposed online
zeynep · x · 2026-10-13
Zeynep Tufekci highlighted an Infosecurity Magazine report: remote-controlled refrigeration systems at French supermarket chains were wiped after vulnerable Danfoss controllers were connected to the public internet without patching — nothing to do with AI.
- Attack targeted outdated versions of Danfoss freezing control software; Intermarché confirmed the details
- Victims include Intermarché, Coopérative U, Carrefour Market, Monoprix, Leclerc, and Super U, affecting 250-350 stores with significant financial losses and food waste
- A Shodan scan on Aug 19 still found 3,726 of these controllers publicly accessible; they didn't need internet access but were connected for remote management, with easily scanned management interfaces
- Similar to last month's FBI breach, where contractor Accenture failed to patch and lost medical files of thousands of agents
In discussion with cryptographer Matthew Green, she argues unpatched systems were always sitting ducks; AI expands the pool of "script kiddies" but may finally push the industry to take patching seriously.
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