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France says cyberattack on supermarket refrigerators may still be ongoing

Associated Press reports that attackers remotely took control of refrigeration at hundreds of French stores, and Finance Minister Roland Lescure said about 700 supermarkets were affected.

Updated Oct 20, 2026 · 02:07 UTC4 reports

The short version

  • Attackers remotely took control of refrigeration systems at hundreds of French supermarkets and independent stores early Monday.[Associated Press]
  • About 700 of France's 10,000 supermarkets were affected, according to Finance Minister Roland Lescure.[Associated Press]
  • France's cybersecurity authority warned the attack may still be ongoing, and no perpetrators have been publicly identified.[Associated Press]
  • The Dutch National Cybersecurity Center said it saw no reason at this time to link several incidents across Europe's food sector.[Associated Press]

Key facts

  • France's cybersecurity authority warned the attack may still be ongoing as stores restocked Wednesday.[Associated Press]
  • Attackers remotely took control of refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores across France in the early hours of Monday.[Associated Press]
  • French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said about 700 of the country's 10,000 supermarkets were affected.[Associated Press]
  • The Dutch National Cybersecurity Center said it saw no reason at this time to believe related incidents affecting Europe's food sector are linked.[Associated Press]
  • No perpetrators have been publicly identified and no claims of responsibility have been made public.[Associated Press]

What remains uncertain

  • Whether the attack is still active is not confirmed; the cybersecurity authority's warning is framed as a possibility.[Associated Press]
  • Who is responsible is unknown, as no perpetrators have been identified and no responsibility claims have been made public.[Associated Press]
  • Whether incidents across Europe's food sector are connected remains unresolved, with the Dutch center currently seeing no link.[Associated Press]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.