A Cyber Attack on French Supermarkets, Measured in Spoiled Food

An overnight cyber attack hit hundreds of French supermarkets, and the bill is being counted in groceries: the BBC reports that fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros was spoiled.

Most intrusion stories arrive as a tally of records or a window of downtime. This one arrives as a cold aisle of ruined stock, which is a reminder that not every consequential target is a database. When the thing an attacker damages is perishable, the recovery clock starts running immediately — there is no patch that unfreezes a pallet of food.