By Alexandros Sainidis

The French say Liberté, égalité, fraternité (freedom, equality, brotherhood) while the Greeks say Bread, Education, Liberty. In connection to the ongoing protests in France, Bread is quite relevant, given the relatively recent cyberattack on French supermarkets. On the night of 11-12 October, attackers remotely changed the temperature and defrost settings at French supermarkets spoiling fresh and frozen stocks. Some units even reached 50°C (Chaperon et al., 2026). A further wave on 12–13 October affected stores using Dixell equipment (Reynaud & Untersinger, 2026). According to the minister of economy, about 700 of the country’s 10,000 stores were affected, though the national food supplies remained secure (Assemblée nationale, 2026).

The timing of the attack is interesting, since food is an important driver behind protests and revolutions but also broadly behind control (Bellemare, 2015; United Nations Human Rights Council, 2014). While on the other end in North Korea famine is a means of control over the population, increase in food prices or scarcity (actually both) is a factor that makes even the most apolitical burn the flag. The perpetrators, thus, are probably connected to the protests, either by cause or by order. Of course, the perpetrators could also be opportunists who vandalize or simply seek reputation (Bayard, 2026).

Since the safety of the affected food could not  be guaranteed, tons of it was discarded costing millions (Abis, 2026). It is a case of commonalities being exploited causing horizontal damage across a large area (Abis, 2026; CERT-FR, 2026). Particularly, since competitors may rely on the same refrigeration technology or maintenance providers, one weakness of that provided is exploited against all purchasers of that software. Moreover, it is an interesting case of food security failure in the Western World, since people tend to believe that food security is only related to natural catastrophes or climate change. The supermarket is the most direct representation of the market to the usual consumer, so, naturally, it is shocking to witness a crisis so closely.

References

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