On November 5, U.S. federal agencies warned that malicious actors are targeting internet-accessible temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers used by grocery retailers and cold-storage facilities, raising the risk of spoiled inventory, fire hazards and equipment damage.
A joint statement from the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the departments of Health and Human Services, Transportation and Agriculture described the activity as an ongoing cyber threat. The CISA statement says unidentified actors are targeting vulnerabilities in controllers accessible from the internet.
The agencies warned that successful attacks could let intruders change temperature settings, potentially causing fire hazards, inventory losses and changes to the service life of refrigeration equipment. CISA acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity Chris Butera said every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be targeted. FBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman said the systems were being targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally, Reuters reported.
The warning follows several recent incidents involving commercial freezers in the United States and Europe, including suspected attacks on refrigeration units at U.S. military bases and disruptions involving UK meat suppliers. The joint statement urged operators of industrial refrigeration systems to remove exposed controllers from the public internet, isolate them from corporate networks and promptly install available software updates.
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