B2 — Upper Intermediate
Hundreds of French supermarkets were hit by a cyberattack, when hackers took control of internet-connected refrigerators and freezers, raising their temperatures to as high as 50°C.
The incident affected major chains, including Intermarché, Carrefour, and Coopérative U, forcing stores to throw away large amounts of spoiled food. Some locations also reported fires.
French authorities have launched an investigation, while cybersecurity experts have highlighted the risks of using outdated software in connected equipment.
The incident shows that cyberattacks can cause not only digital damage but also serious financial losses and food safety concerns.
Read the article about French supermarkets getting hit by cyber attack.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crq5nzxv9q4yo
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “to ward off something” mean? “Danfoss said the affected cold units were older models whose security software could not be updated to ward off a risk they had identified.” Use the idiom in a sentence. Give a synonym.
- What does “to keep something up to date” mean? “The firm added in a statement that it had “long advised” businesses to keep supported systems up to date.” Use the expression in a sentence. Give a synonym.
- What does “full scale of something“ mean? “The full scale of the attack is unclear, but figures supplied by individual chains suggest about 400 stores were affected out of 15,000 or so overall in France.” Use the phrase in a sentence. Give a synonym.
Discussion Questions:
- What was your reaction upon reading this news? Would you still feel safe shopping at a supermarket after an incident like this? Why or why not?
- Why might hackers target supermarket equipment instead of computers or personal data?
- What are your thoughts on this, “100 shops were urgently disconnected from the internet to prevent the same thing happening to them.”?
- What steps can supermarkets take to protect their connected devices from hackers?
- How could this kind of cyberattack affect food prices and food waste?
- Share your thoughts on this, “Food security requires more attention at all levels. Because the weaponisation of food has become a reality.”
- What lessons can businesses around the world learn from this incident?