Hackers have hijacked grocery store freezers and accessed France’s blood banks. Could they hack our homes?

November 4, 2026 / 11:09 AM EST / CBS News

London — Cyberattacks on grocery store refrigeration systems across Europe sent temperatures soaring on Monday, spoiling food and causing significant financial losses in the second such incident in less than a month. In October, hundreds of French stores were targeted in a similar attack that sent temperatures in some units soaring to 122° Fahrenheit, destroying a huge amount of food.

On Wednesday, France's health service said the country's national emergency blood supply network had also been compromised by hackers this week, though alert and backup systems prevented cold storage facilities from being shut down, and no supplies were lost.

The incidents have renewed wider concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the growing risks of internet-connected consumer "smart" technology. It is not just essential systems such as electricity grids, healthcare databases and grocery store chains' refrigeration, which can have multiple layers of security and redundancy built in, but everyday appliances that are now connected to the internet.

The concern among some experts is that devices pitched as time-saving conveniences for consumers could also create potential entry points for hackers.

CBS News spoke with several cybersecurity experts who warned that…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/