PARIS (AP) - Cyberattacks disrupted European supermarket chains, affecting refrigeration systems at hundreds of stores in France and forcing a major grocer to shut down websites serving customers in Europe and the United States.
French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told Parliament on Tuesday that about 700 of the country's 10,000 supermarkets were affected. He said there was no risk to France's food supplies but acknowledged that the attack "touches the heart of our food security."
"It was a wake-up call for everyone," he said.
Separately, Dutch supermarket giant Ahold Delhaize said Tuesday it was working to restore systems it had shut down following what it described as a security issue. The company said its stores - including Albert Heijn in the Netherlands, Delhaize in Belgium and Stop & Shop, Food Lion and Giant in the United States - remained open, but the websites for those brands remained offline Tuesday.
Ahold Delhaize said it had no evidence that customer or employee data had been stolen.
The Paris prosecutor's office said Tuesday that its cybercrime unit was investigating the large-scale attack in France, including the extent of damage caused by spoiled food and reported fires. According to BFM-TV, hackers forced a continuous defrost cycle and set temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on stores' refrigeration systems.
French supermarket group Groupement Mousquetaires, which operates more than 4,000 stores across Europe, said 300 of its Intermarché and Netto stores were impacted. Some refrigerated and frozen food display cases remained out of service Tuesday.
https://apnews.com/article/france-cyberattack-supermarkets-refrigeration-systems-78a813a8efd466b360655339f96083dc