Government Advisory

Hackers Are Targeting Commercial Refrigeration Controllers, US Agencies Warn

CISA · 5 Nov 2026

Key Takeaway If your business relies on connected refrigeration or temperature monitoring, check whether those controllers are reachable from the internet, remove any remote access you do not need, and apply updates and strong passwords to the rest.

Five US government agencies, including CISA and the FBI, have warned of malicious cyber activity targeting industrial refrigeration and cold chain monitoring systems worldwide. These systems are widely used in healthcare, chemical, food and agriculture, and transport to monitor temperatures remotely, log readings, manage defrost cycles and optimise energy use.

The agencies say attackers are going after electronic temperature controllers and commercial refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities. By exploiting weaknesses in unpatched or internet-accessible controllers, attackers may change settings remotely and force units into continuous heating and defrost cycles. This can cause widespread inventory loss and equipment hazards. The flaws involved include authentication bypass, arbitrary code injection and weak configurations.

The agencies urge owners and operators to use strong authentication, keep systems updated, identify any systems reachable from the internet, remove unnecessary remote access, and secure any remote access that is genuinely needed.

Refrigeration Cold Chain Operational Technology CISA Remote Access

Summarised by CISO AI from CISA, written with Claude Sonnet 5.5. We link back to every original so you can read it yourself.