US Issues Warning as Hackers Target Commercial Refrigeration Controllers

The United States has warned of an "ongoing cyber threat" to industrial refrigeration systems, saying every organisation that depends on cold storage should assume it could be a target. The statement was jointly issued by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the US departments of health, transport and agriculture. It says unidentified "malicious cyber actors" are targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities.

The agencies say that if attackers succeed, they could change temperatures and possibly cause physical impacts such as fire hazards, loss of inventory and changes to the service life of the equipment. The FBI said these systems are being targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally. The statement was short on detail about who is behind the attacks.

At least three waves of hacks have hit commercial fridges and freezers in recent months. Pentagon investigators are treating mysterious malfunctions in grocery store refrigeration units on US military bases in August as a cyberattack, according to Reuters. A large hack of French freezers last month caused tens of millions of euros in damage, and a second wave affected more than 100 stores across Europe on Monday. US authorities urge operators to take devices off the public internet, isolate them from corporate networks and promptly apply software updates.