First there was melting ice-cream. Then the smell of rotting meat. And finally, the sight of desperate supermarket workers shovelling armfuls of spoiled food into black bin bags.
On Sunday October 11, French supermarkets were hit by an unprecedented cyber attack on refrigeration units across 700 stores. In the worst-affected shops, freezer temperatures reached 80C, equivalent to a typical sauna, and small fires broke out as plastic and cardboard packaging ignited.
Supermarket behemoth Cooperative U was among the worst hit, with about 5 per cent of its 2,000 stores affected. Other chains caught up in the attack included Carrefour, Intermarche, Monoprix and
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