French fridge hack highlights need for connected equipment security in Korea
Empty refrigerators stand in the frozen food aisle inside an Intermarche supermarket in Paris the day after a cyberattack targeted refrigeration systems at French supermarket chains, causing food losses and fires at several stores, France, Oct.13, 2026. Reuters-Yonhap
Major Korean supermarket chains manage refrigeration systems at individual stores
A recent hacking incident involving commercial refrigerators at supermarkets in France is highlighting the importance of cybersecurity for connected equipment among Korean businesses, as companies increasingly rely on interconnected and centrally controlled systems for their operations.
Industry officials said Thursday that the attack compromised supermarket refrigeration systems, but the underlying issue is the growing reliance of commercial equipment on network connectivity. They stressed the need to strengthen security across both hardware and software to ensure that no loopholes emerge anywhere in the system.
The incident affected hundreds of supermarkets in France, where hackers reportedly gained remote access to centralized refrigeration control systems and manipulated temperatures, forcing retailers to discard spoiled food. Danish manufacturer Danfoss, which supplied the affected systems, attributed the incident to outdated equipment that had not received security updates.
Retail chains, including supermarkets, use commercial refrigeration equipment. In Korea, major electronics companies such as Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are not involved in this business. Instead, most systems are supplied by specialized midsized companies such as CRK, a unit of Autech Carrier, Grand Woosung and Hansung Showcase.
The larger players operate integrated monitoring centers equipped with centralized control systems, allowing both on-site managers and the companies themselves to monitor and respond to temperature deviations, signs of equipment failure and other issues.
Shrimp are displayed in a refrigerated showcase at an Emart store in Seoul, Oct. 8. Yonhap
Emart, one of Korea's largest hypermarket chains, said each of its stores manages its refrigerators and fresh display cases independently.
“Since the refrigeration system is not centrally controlled by headquarters or regional hubs through a network, we do not face such risks arising from connectivity,” an Emart official said.
Lotte Mart also said each store manually manages the temperatures of its refrigeration equipment rather than relying on a centralized control system, leaving it free from such concerns. Homeplus declined to comment.
However, industry officials say the hacking incident in France should be seen not simply as a vulnerability in refrigerator hardware, but as a broader security issue involving network-connected management systems.
“Although the incident involved the hacking of supermarket refrigerators, I think it should be viewed as a broader issue of security vulnerabilities in centralized control systems,” an industry official said.
“Given that many businesses operate interconnected equipment and integrated monitoring systems, the issue is not just about hardware security but also how these systems are managed.”
This screenshot shows a dark web post selling videos obtained by hacking apartment complexes in Korea. The perpetrator breached wall-mounted smart home control panels at 638 apartment complexes across Korea and was sentenced to four years in prison. Courtesy of the National Police Agency
Korea has also seen cyberattacks exploiting vulnerabilities in network-connected systems, including smart home devices and building infrastructure.
Between August and November 2021, a hacker breached wall-mounted smart home control panels and residential complex servers at 638 apartment complexes across Korea, affecting some 400,000 households. Private videos of residents obtained through the hacking were traded on the dark web. The perpetrator was a man in his 40s who had previously appeared in the media as a cybersecurity expert.
Also in 2021, an automated control system installed at an apartment complex in Seoul was hacked, with attackers installing remote access software and using the compromised system as a relay point to attack an overseas internet server.
The system was designed to automatically control building infrastructure, including heating and cooling equipment, drainage pumps and water storage tanks. Although it was not confirmed whether the breach caused any direct harm to residents, the National Intelligence Service identified the system as being used in apartment complexes and other buildings across Korea and alerted the public to take measures.
Korea has also recently experienced a series of cyberattacks targeting financial institutions. In response, authorities conducted security inspections of 555 financial companies and found vulnerabilities at about 23 percent of those inspected. Some had failed to install the latest security software or properly manage systems that were no longer supported by their manufacturers.
Risks are growing as artificial intelligence (AI)-based cyberattacks become increasingly supplicated.
On Monday, Anthropic released a report suggesting that AI models could soon be capable of replicating and spreading themselves by distributing their workloads across multiple low-cost Internet of Things (IoT) devices with weak security, without relying on expensive data center-level graphic processing units.
This means AI models can run across multiple IoT devices with limited computing power by distributing the workload among them. If AI models infiltrate such devices and replicate and spread autonomously, they could be difficult to shut down because there would be no single central point where they could be disabled. Even environments comprised of multiple low-computing power devices could serve as bases for such AI models.
“Developing robust security systems is important, but ultimately, security measures must be continuously updated,” another industry official said. “Especially when various devices are interconnected and centrally controlled or managed through a single platform, a single security loophole can compromise the entire system.”