Attackers Heat French Supermarket Fridges Up to 50°C by Hijacking Danfoss Controllers
Attackers hijacked Danfoss controllers to heat French supermarket fridges to 50°C.
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Summary
Attackers gained remote access to Danfoss controllers managing refrigeration systems in hundreds of French supermarkets on October 11th. They manipulated these systems to raise the temperatures inside fridges and freezers to as high as 50°C, leading to significant food spoilage and forcing retailers to discard large quantities of perishable goods. The attack highlights vulnerabilities in the remote management of industrial control systems.
The lesson from this incident
Full lessonAttackers exploited internet-exposed Danfoss industrial controllers to remotely manipulate refrigeration systems across hundreds of French supermarkets, raising temperatures to 50°C and causing widespread food spoilage. The root cause lies in insufficiently secured remote access to operational technology (OT) systems — controllers were reachable from the internet without adequate authentication or network isolation. This incident demonstrates that OT/ICS devices are high-value targets with real-world physical and financial consequences when compromised. The lack of network segmentation between IT and OT environments allowed attackers to reach critical infrastructure systems that should never be directly internet-facing.
What helps against this
How we list vendors- Identity threat detection and response (ITDR)
Attackers who log in with real, stolen credentials get noticed.
- Network segmentation and microsegmentation
One compromised machine can no longer reach everything else.
- OT and industrial control system security
Factory, building and utility control systems get visibility and protection.