French supermarket fridge attack reaches Copeland and Dixell systems

A cyberattack that spoiled food and disrupted at least 400 French supermarkets now appears to reach beyond the Danfoss equipment identified first. France’s cyber agency says it has seen numerous compromises of remote refrigeration controllers made by Copeland and its Dixell unit—systems that let operators monitor and change a store’s cooling equipment over a network. Attackers altered the controls, pushing some refrigerators and freezers as high as 50 degrees Celsius and, in a few cases, causing fires; stores had to discard food that no longer met safe storage conditions. The episode shows how a breach of a connected controller can quickly become physical damage, waste, downtime, and a food-safety risk, and the agency warns the campaign may still be underway.