French fridge hack highlights need for connected equipment security in Korea

A hacking incident involving commercial refrigerators at hundreds of supermarkets in France has highlighted cybersecurity risks for connected equipment in Korea. Hackers remotely accessed centralized refrigeration controls and manipulated temperatures, while the supplier attributed the breach to outdated equipment lacking security updates. Korean industry officials said centralized management systems, rather than refrigerator hardware alone, require stronger and continuously updated security. The risks extend to smart homes, building infrastructure and other interconnected systems.

Danfoss, the Danish manufacturer of the affected systems, attributed the French incident to outdated equipment that had not received security updates.

Korean refrigeration suppliers include CRK, a unit of Autech Carrier, Grand Woosung and Hansung Showcase, while Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics are not involved in this business.

Emart and Lotte Mart said their stores manually manage refrigeration equipment independently rather than through centrally controlled headquarters or regional networks.

Between August and November 2021, a breach affected smart home control panels and residential complex servers at 638 apartment complexes in Korea, involving about 400,000 households.

Security inspections of 555 Korean financial companies found vulnerabilities at about 23 percent of those inspected, including outdated or unsupported systems.

Published Oct 15, 2026 4:13 pm KST

Major Korean supermarket chains manage refrigeration systems at individual stores

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

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.”

法国数百家超市的商用冰箱遭到黑客攻击，凸显了韩国联网设备面临的网络安全风险。黑客远程访问了中央制冷控制系统并篡改了温度，而供应商则将此次攻击归咎于设备老化且缺乏安全更新。韩国业内人士表示，集中式管理系统，而不仅仅是冰箱硬件，更需要强大且持续更新的安全防护。这种风险也延伸至智能家居、楼宇基础设施和其他互联系统。

受影响系统的丹麦制造商丹佛斯公司将法国发生的这起事件归咎于设备过时，没有收到安全更新。

韩国制冷设备供应商包括 Autech Carrier 旗下的 CRK、Grand Woosung 和 Hansung Showcase，而三星电子和 LG 电子并未涉足该业务。

易买得和乐天玛特表示，他们的门店独立进行人工管理制冷设备，而不是通过中央控制的总部或区域网络进行管理。

2021 年 8 月至 11 月期间，韩国 638 个公寓小区的智能家居控制面板和住宅小区服务器遭到入侵，约 40 万户家庭受到影响。

对 555 家韩国金融公司进行的安全检查发现，约 23% 的受检公司存在漏洞，包括过时或不受支持的系统。

发布于2026年10月15日下午4:13（韩国标准时间）

韩国大型连锁超市自行管理各门店的冷藏系统。

2026年10月13日，法国巴黎，一家Intermarche超市的冷冻食品区摆放着空荡荡的冰箱。此前一天，法国连锁超市的制冷系统遭到网络攻击，导致多家门店发生火灾并造成食品损失。（路透社-韩联社）

最近法国超市的商用冰箱遭到黑客攻击，这凸显了韩国企业联网设备网络安全的重要性，因为企业越来越依赖互联互通和集中控制系统进行运营。

业内人士周四表示，此次攻击导致超市冷藏系统瘫痪，但根本问题在于商用设备对网络连接的依赖性日益增强。他们强调，必须加强硬件和软件的安全防护，确保系统各个环节都不会出现漏洞。

此次事件影响了法国数百家超市。据报道，黑客远程入侵了中央制冷控制系统，篡改了温度，迫使零售商丢弃变质食品。为受影响系统提供设备的丹麦制造商丹佛斯公司将此次事件归咎于设备老化，未进行安全更新。

包括超市在内的零售连锁店都使用商用制冷设备。在韩国，三星电子和LG电子等大型电子公司并不涉足这一业务。相反，大多数制冷系统由CRK（Autech Carrier旗下公司）、Grand Woosung和Hansung Showcase等专业中型企业提供。

规模较大的企业运营着配备集中控制系统的集成监控中心，使现场管理人员和公司本身都能监控和应对温度偏差、设备故障迹象和其他问题。

10月8日，首尔一家易买得超市的冷藏柜里陈列着虾。（韩联社）

韩国最大的大型超市连锁店之一易买得表示，旗下每家门店都独立管理其冰箱和生鲜展示柜。

“由于制冷系统并非由总部或区域枢纽通过网络进行集中控制，因此我们不会面临因互联互通而产生的此类风险，”易买得的一位官员表示。

乐天玛特还表示，每家门店都由人工管理冷藏设备的温度，而非依赖中央控制系统，因此不存在此类问题。Homeplus拒绝置评。

然而，业内人士表示，法国发生的这起黑客事件不应仅仅被视为冰箱硬件的漏洞，而应被视为涉及网络连接管理系统的更广泛的安全问题。

一位业内人士表示：“虽然这起事件涉及超市冰箱被黑客入侵，但我认为应该将其视为集中控制系统安全漏洞这一更广泛的问题。”

“鉴于许多企业都运营着互联设备和集成监控系统，问题不仅在于硬件安全，还在于这些系统的管理方式。”

这张截图显示的是一个暗网帖子，出售通过入侵韩国公寓楼获取的视频。犯罪分子入侵了韩国各地638栋公寓楼的智能家居控制面板，被判处四年有期徒刑。图片由韩国国家警察厅提供。

韩国也出现了利用网络连接系统漏洞进行网络攻击的情况，这些系统包括智能家居设备和建筑基础设施。

2021年8月至11月期间，一名黑客入侵了韩国638个公寓楼的智能家居控制面板和住宅服务器，影响了约40万户家庭。黑客获取的住户私人视频在暗网上被交易。作案者是一名40多岁的男子，此前曾以网络安全专家的身份出现在媒体报道中。

同样在 2021 年，首尔一处公寓楼安装的自动化控制系统遭到黑客攻击，攻击者安装了远程访问软件，并利用被入侵的系统作为中继点攻击海外互联网服务器。

该系统旨在自动控制建筑物的各项基础设施，包括供暖和制冷设备、排水泵和储水箱。虽然尚未确认此次安全漏洞是否对居民造成直接伤害，但韩国国家情报院已确认该系统在韩国各地的公寓楼和其他建筑物中使用，并提醒公众采取措施。

韩国近期也遭受了一系列针对金融机构的网络攻击。为此，韩国当局对555家金融公司进行了安全检查，发现其中约23%的公司存在安全漏洞。部分公司未能安装最新的安全软件，或未能妥善管理已停止厂商支持的系统。

随着基于人工智能（AI）的网络攻击日益增多，风险也在不断增加。

周一，Anthropic 发布了一份报告，指出人工智能模型可能很快就能通过将工作负载分配到多个安全性较弱的低成本物联网 (IoT) 设备上来实现自我复制和传播，而无需依赖昂贵的数据中心级图形处理单元。

这意味着人工智能模型可以通过在多个计算能力有限的物联网设备之间分配工作负载，从而在这些设备上运行。如果人工智能模型渗透到这些设备中，并自主复制和传播，则可能难以将其关闭，因为没有一个可以禁用它们的集中控制点。即使是由多个低计算能力设备组成的环境，也可能成为此类人工智能模型的运行基础。

另一位业内人士表示：“开发强大的安全系统固然重要，但归根结底，安全措施必须不断更新。尤其是在各种设备互联互通，并通过单一平台进行集中控制或管理的情况下，一个安全漏洞就可能危及整个系统。”