A cyberattack that disrupted refrigeration systems at hundreds of French supermarkets this week has raised concerns about the vulnerability of U.S. grocery operations to similar attacks.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told Parliament on Tuesday (Oct. 13) that approximately 700 of the country’s 10,000 supermarkets were affected. He said the attack posed no risk to France’s overall food supply.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said its cybercrime unit was investigating the attack, including the extent of damage from spoiled food and reported fires. French broadcaster BFM-TV reported that hackers forced refrigeration systems into continuous defrost cycles and raised temperatures as high as 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dr. David Utzke, a cybersecurity expert and former U.S. Treasury federal agent who worked in the agency’s cybercrimes headquarters unit, told SecurityInfoWatch the attack raises concerns about the security of remotely managed refrigeration equipment used by American grocers.
How hackers can access refrigeration controls
Commercial refrigeration systems use remotely accessible controls that allow technicians to adjust temperatures, monitor equipment and manage alarms.
France’s national cybersecurity agency reported numerous compromises involving remote refrigeration control modules manufactured by Danfoss and Copeland in connection with the supermarket attacks.
In August, cybersecurity researchers at Claroty identified vulnerabilities in the Danfoss AK-SM 800A and Copeland XWeb Pro refrigeration management platforms. Both manufacturers subsequently addressed the identified flaws.
Danfoss said most affected systems in France were older products that no longer received software or security updates. The company said it was working with affected customers and had long recommended keeping supported equipment updated and operating it behind a firewall.
Utzke pointed to several of the documented vulnerabilities in the Danfoss AK-SM 800A platform, which uses a web-based interface called StoreView to coordinate refrigeration equipment.
One vulnerability involved a hardcoded authentication mechanism that could allow unauthorized access to internet-exposed control panels.
Once an attacker gained administrative access, Utzke said, another vulnerability could allow the intruder to “execute arbitrary operating system commands,” enabling remote manipulation of the equipment.
A separate flaw could disrupt the management interface and prevent store personnel from accessing digital controls.
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