By Marco Hugo Barsotti MHB 
You are listening to a new special from am1575news, Francia24 and Radio Centrale Milano, on podcast and medium waves.
The attack on the Danfoss refrigeration system
During the night between Sunday and Monday, cyber criminals breached older versions of the Danfoss control software, used in thousands of French large‑scale retail stores. Their target was the automatic “de‑icing” function, a feature normally intended to remove ice from cooling units. By manipulating the command, the hackers forced a continuous defrost cycle and set the temperature to fifty degrees, raising the cold to unacceptable levels and ruining fresh and frozen products.
Damage in Alsace and the peninsula
In Haguenau, two hypermarkets suffered damages exceeding €270,000. Intermarché had to discard all its frozen stock, losing around €50,000, while Leclerc in Wasselone saw both frozen and fresh products destroyed, with an estimated loss of €220,000. National estimates speak of millions of euros in losses, because the breach hit not only the major chains but also Metro stores and independent businesses such as butchers.
Intermarché, Netto, Leclerc and Super U under attack
The Mousquetaires group confirmed that as many as 300 points of sale, among Intermarché and Netto, were involved, doubling the initial estimate of 150 stores. The U cooperative reported that fewer than a hundred of its locations experienced the outage, with cases where all fresh products had to be discarded. Internal communications told employees to prioritize exceptional orders to mitigate the chaos.
Reactions of authorities and businesses
The Director General of ANSSI described the attack as “of extreme seriousness and unprecedented.” The agency has already identified the vulnerability in the Danfoss software, has initiated contacts with the Danish vendor and is cooperating with European authorities to prevent other countries from suffering the same fate. A crisis meeting was convened at 11 a.m. on Monday, with the participation of Axima, a refrigeration‑maintenance expert, and representatives from Danfoss, to define containment measures and the restoration of the cold chain.
Impact on consumer spending
The disruption of the cold chains forced many retailers to quickly withdraw any still‑intact products, leading to empty shelves and possible price increases for consumers. Operators have pledged to maintain food‑safety standards and speed up replenishment operations, but the fear of further cyber‑vulnerabilities remains high in a sector so crucial for the daily supply of the French.
This is all for now. From the Paris newsroom I am Rachel Costa: this is am1575news, Francia24 and Radio Centrale Milano.