The United States government has warned of an 'ongoing cyber threat' to industrial refrigeration systems, saying every organization that depends on cold storage should assume it may fall into hackers' crosshairs.
The warning, issued jointly on Thursday by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the departments of health, transport and agriculture, said unidentified "malicious cyber actors" were targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities.
The advisory follows at least three waves of hacks against commercial freezers in the past few months. Pentagon investigators are treating a series of mysterious malfunctions that hit grocery store refrigeration units on US military bases in August as a cyberattack, Reuters reported last week. A sweeping hack of French freezers last month caused tens of millions of euros in damage, and a second wave of hacking affected more than 100 stores across Europe on Monday.
"If successfully exploited, the actors could change the temperature and possibly cause physical impacts such as fire hazards, loss of inventory and changes to the service life of the system," the statement said.
Chris Butera, CISA's acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said: "Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target."
FBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman said the government was "seeing these systems targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally."
The government urged operators of industrial refrigeration control systems to pull their devices off the public internet, isolate them from their corporate networks and promptly apply software updates.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Industrial refrigeration is a backbone of the food and pharmaceutical supply chain; a widespread compromise could cause significant spoilage and economic disruption.
- Remote tampering with temperature controls could also create fire or safety hazards at countless facilities.
- The attacks show that hackers are targeting critical operational technology, not just IT networks, raising the stakes for infrastructure protection.
Background
Industrial refrigeration controllers are often connected to the internet for remote monitoring and management, which creates an attack surface. Recent incidents in the US and Europe have demonstrated that these systems are being actively exploited, prompting the U.S. government to issue a blanket warning rather than focusing on specific sectors.
What to Watch
- Whether operators follow the recommendations to disconnect systems from the public internet, a step many may resist due to operational convenience.
- Further attacks in other regions as vulnerabilities in these widely used controllers become more widely known among threat actors.
- The U.S. government's response if attacks continue or escalate, including potential attribution or sanctions against the hackers.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedThe US warned of an ongoing cyber threat to industrial refrigeration systems.US Top News and Analysis: “The United States is warning of an "ongoing cyber threat" to industrial refrigeration systems”
- SupportedThe government said organizations depending on cold storage should assume they could be targeted.US Top News and Analysis: “every organization that depends on cold storage should assume it could fall into the hackers' crosshairs.”
- SupportedThe warning was issued jointly on Thursday by the FBI, CISA and the departments of health, transport and agriculture.US Top News and Analysis: “the statement, which was jointly issued by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the departments of health, transport and agriculture.”
- SupportedThe advisory said unidentified malicious cyber actors were targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible refrigeration controllers at retail grocery and cold storage facilities.US Top News and Analysis: “unidentified "malicious cyber actors" were targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities.”
- SupportedAt least three waves of hacks hit commercial fridges and freezers in the past few months.US Top News and Analysis: “At least three waves of hacks have hit commercial fridges and freezers in the past few months.”
- SupportedPentagon investigators are treating August refrigeration malfunctions at grocery stores on US military bases as a cyberattack, Reuters reported last week.US Top News and Analysis: “Pentagon investigators are treating a series of mysterious malfunctions that hit grocery store refrigeration units on US military bases in August as a cyberattack, Reuters first reported last week.”
- SupportedA sweeping hack of French freezers last month caused tens of millions of euros in damage.US Top News and Analysis: “A sweeping hack of French freezers last month dealt tens of millions of euros' worth of damage”
- SupportedA second wave of hacking affected more than 100 stores across Europe on Monday.US Top News and Analysis: “a second wave of hacking affected more than 100 stores across Europe on Monday.”
- SupportedThe warning said successful exploitation could let actors change temperatures and possibly cause fire hazards, inventory loss and changes to system service life.US Top News and Analysis: “"If successfully exploited, the actors could change the temperature and possibly cause physical impacts such as fire hazards, loss of inventory and changes to the service life of the system,"”
- SupportedCISA acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity Chris Butera said organizations depending on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume they could be targets.US Top News and Analysis: “"Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target," said Chris Butera, CISA's acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity.”
- SupportedFBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman said the government was seeing these systems targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally.US Top News and Analysis: “FBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman said that the government was "seeing these systems targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally."”
- SupportedThe government urged industrial refrigeration control system operators to remove devices from the public internet, isolate them from corporate networks and promptly apply software updates.US Top News and Analysis: “The government urged operators of industrial refrigeration control systems to pull their devices off the public internet, isolate them from their corporate networks and promptly apply software updates.”
