Supermarket freezers that cooked their own stock overnight. Text messages about traffic fines that quietly steal payment PINs. North Korean IT workers paying Americans to keep remote jobs at U.S. companies. This weekly cybersecurity roundup brings together incidents that reached well beyond stolen data, causing spoiled food, store fires, disrupted grocery deliveries and drained bank accounts. Here are the stories that shaped the week.

Hackers Turned French Supermarket Freezers Into Ovens Overnight

Hundreds of French supermarkets woke up to spoiled stock after hackers took remote control of internet-connected refrigeration systems overnight. Retailers confirmed on Monday that attackers pushed fridge and freezer temperatures as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122F) while stores were closed. Tonnes of food perished, some equipment melted, and in some stores the heat sparked fires. French TV channel BFM reported that the attackers appeared to trigger a forced defrost option, keeping units heating instead of cooling. The attack did not use a new exploit. It targeted ageing connected devices still online years after their manufacturer stopped supporting them. E.Leclerc, Intermarché, Carrefour, Monoprix and Coopérative U were all hit. At least 300 Intermarché and Netto stores were affected, Coopérative U reported more than 100, Carrefour said 80, and Monoprix said about 5 percent of its roughly 490 stores were targeted. Bruce Hallas, CEO at Re-thinking the Human Factor, noted that estimates sit around 400 stores, with some branches reporting losses of about €250,000. Some reports put the total above 500 shops. Read More

Fake Traffic Challan Texts Are Stealing UPI PINs From Android Users in India

GhostBat RAT, an Android malware strain first identified by Cyble in October 2025, has evolved to capture PINs from 60 banking, UPI, wallet and fintech apps. It spreads through SMS messages about unpaid traffic challans that lead victims to fake mParivahan download pages, with GitHub repositories also used to host the malicious files. Cyble's research also exposed a wider operator-controlled ecosystem it tracks as GhostX, linking phishing pages, backend control systems and malware distribution. Many of the fake apps are first-stage loaders that hide the real payload in encrypted files or download it later, helping them pass initial scans. Read More

Death Threats, Laptop Farms, Stolen IDs: Inside North Korea's Job Scam

North Korean IT workers are paying Americans to help them get and keep remote jobs at U.S. companies, according to an updated FBI public service announcement. The Justice Department also announced charges, two arrests and the seizure of about 187 computer devices linked to the scheme. The FBI said Americans are being hired to appear on camera, sit for job interviews, verify fake identities, lend social media or professional networking accounts, ship packages, complete drug tests or fingerprint submissions, and keep work laptops running from their homes. The workers also use stolen identities, extort victims and threaten physical violence. North Korea's government receives an estimated 85 to 90 percent of the revenue they generate, which helps fund its nuclear weapons and military programs. Read More

Ahold Delhaize Incident Disrupts Grocery Supply in Netherlands and Belgium

A cyber incident at Ahold Delhaize has disrupted parts of the grocery retailer's IT infrastructure, prompting it to take some systems offline. Stores remain open, but reports from the Netherlands and Belgium indicate disruption to distribution, customer service and some delivery operations. The company has not disclosed the nature of the incident or whether customer or employee data was affected, and it has given no timeline for full recovery. Ahold Delhaize operates in nine countries, employs more than 384,000 people and owns U.S. brands including Food Lion and Stop & Shop. Read More

Kerala Police Signs MoU With Cyble for Cybercrime Investigations

Kerala Police has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with Cyble to bring threat intelligence into cybercrime investigations. The agreement, signed through Cyble Infosec India Private Limited and announced on October 12, 2026, covers intelligence support, investigative assistance and capacity building. It will support the Kerala Police Cyber Operations wing and Cyberdome in identifying and investigating emerging threats. Read More [caption id="attachment_114716" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Image Source: Cyble[/caption]

Seoul National University Reports 28 Hacking Incidents Since 2021

Seoul National University has suffered 28 hacking incidents since 2021, exposing more than 1,100 pieces of personal information belonging to students, faculty and staff. The figures come from data the university submitted to Rep. Baek Seung-ah of the Democratic Party. There were eight attacks in 2021, a peak of 10 in 2022, none in 2023, one in 2024 and five in 2025, with four confirmed so far this year. Departmental systems were hit most often, in 19 incidents, followed by laboratory systems with six, research systems with two and one institutionwide system. Read More

Morocco Prioritizes AI Threats and Critical Infrastructure Defense

Morocco is placing greater focus on proactive threat detection, critical infrastructure protection and artificial intelligence in its cybersecurity strategy. Speaking at the opening of National Cybersecurity Week in Rabat, Abdellatif Loudiyi, Minister Delegate in charge of National Defense Administration, said cybersecurity must be built into institutional governance rather than treated as an extra expense. He called for stronger preparedness, early detection and coordinated incident response. The event runs from October 12 to 14. Taken together, this week's incidents show attackers targeting the systems people rely on every day, from shop refrigeration and grocery supply chains to payment apps and hiring processes. Follow The Cyber Express for next week's weekly cybersecurity roundup and ongoing coverage of these stories. Read More

Artificial intelligence systems are becoming more capable and autonomous, raising new questions about how they can be monitored, controlled and secured. Speaking before the United Nations Security Council, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that the rapid pace of AI development could create significant AI security risks, particularly if systems advance faster than institutions can respond. Altman highlighted concerns ranging from human control and autonomous AI to emerging vulnerabilities, concentrated technological power and the need for international incident reporting. He also called for stronger cooperation between governments, critical infrastructure operators and technical experts to address emerging AI threats.

Here are six key AI security risks highlighted in his remarks.

1. Losing Human Control Over Advanced AI

One of Altman’s central concerns was the possibility that humans could lose control over increasingly capable AI systems. He warned that AI could move so quickly that people may no longer be able to understand what systems are doing or intervene when necessary. He argued that developers should not train systems unless they can make a strong case that those systems can remain under human control. The concern becomes more significant as AI systems become capable of handling increasingly complex tasks and making decisions with less direct human involvement.

2. AI Systems Becoming More Autonomous

The growing autonomy of AI systems presents another challenge for AI cybersecurity. Altman pointed to the possibility of AI systems improving themselves and future versions of themselves, describing this as recursive self-improvement. As the process of developing AI becomes more automated, the pace of progress could accelerate. For security teams and policymakers, increasingly autonomous systems could make monitoring, testing and intervention more difficult.

3. Emerging Vulnerabilities and New Threats

More capable AI systems could also introduce vulnerabilities and threats that organizations and governments may not yet fully understand. Altman called for secure channels between governments, critical infrastructure operators and technical experts to share information about emerging vulnerabilities and threats. The remarks place information sharing at the center of preparing for AI vulnerabilities, particularly as AI becomes increasingly integrated into important systems and infrastructure.

4. AI Power Concentrating in Too Few Hands

Altman also warned about the concentration of advanced AI capabilities among a small number of companies, individuals or countries. He argued that no single company or country should be able to use the most powerful AI systems to impose its worldview on others. From a security perspective, concentrated control over highly capable AI could create systemic risks if a limited number of actors have disproportionate access to powerful technology.

5. The Need for Global AI Incident Reporting and Threat Sharing

Altman called for accurate and speedy AI incident reporting, including classification and reporting protocols that would allow countries to learn from failures before they become larger problems. He also called for common standards covering AI capabilities, risk assessments, safeguards and human oversight. Such standards, he said, could help countries compare evidence and establish a shared understanding of what effective safeguards and oversight should look like.

6. AI Development Could Outpace Existing Safety Measures

The speed of AI development itself could become a security challenge. Altman warned that rapid progress could move faster than institutions are prepared to handle. He argued that competition between companies should not become a reason to accept excessive technological risk. He also stressed the importance of alignment, monitoring and safety guarantees as AI systems become more capable. For AI safety, this means ensuring that security measures and oversight develop alongside increasingly powerful systems rather than being added only after problems emerge.

AI Security Moves Into a Global Conversation

Altman’s remarks put AI security risks alongside broader questions about international cooperation, human oversight and technological governance. His proposed approach includes global standards for measuring AI capabilities and risks, incident reporting mechanisms, and secure communication between governments, critical infrastructure operators and technical experts. As AI systems become more autonomous and capable, the challenge will not only be what these systems can do, but whether organizations and governments can monitor, understand and respond to the risks they create.