Cyber Experts Warn Hackers May Already Be Inside American Utilities After the French Supermarket Freezer Attack
After attackers pushed hundreds of French supermarket freezers past 100 degrees, experts say the U.S. should assume intruders are already in and plan for resilience.
Cybersecurity experts say a cyberattack that spoiled food across France is a warning for American water, power and food supply systems.
Fox News reports that unknown hackers took over refrigeration in hundreds of French supermarkets, driving temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit overnight and causing millions of dollars in losses. The affected stores belong to the Intermarché and Cooperative U chains. Danfoss, the Danish maker of the refrigeration systems, said many of the fridges were legacy units that no longer get updates.
John Walsh, a senior vice president at the software company IGEL who works with governments and companies that build critical infrastructure, told Fox News Digital the same thing could happen here. "Think about if we don't have water for seven days, or if they attack freezers and we don't have food," he said. "That's a tough situation for people to live through, and it could create a lot of economic and social unrest."
The weak point he describes is old equipment. Facilities in food manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, oil and utilities often run assets that are 15 to 20 years old, he said. They are "expensive, fragile, and essential," and operators resist taking them offline to upgrade under an "if it's not broken, don't fix it" mindset.
His advice is to shift from security to resilience. Security means trusting that things are fine, he said. Resilience means assuming the attacker is already present and limiting the damage. He warns the intruders could be in the grid and other infrastructure "just waiting for the adversary to activate it," and says recent hacks may be practice. He cited a 2026 coordinated attack on Minnesota's water systems and said he sees a pattern across the U.S., France and the UK.
Amy Kremer, chair of Humans First, told Fox she is "shocked that appliances have access to the internet," and said thermostats and other connected home devices are also a concern.
A caution. This is a warning from industry experts, not a finding by U.S. officials that attackers are inside American utilities. Walsh's company sells security products, and Fox's report does not offer evidence of a specific current intrusion here.