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US Warns of Ongoing Cyber Threat to Industrial Freezers
US agencies warn hackers are targeting internet-connected industrial freezers and refrigeration systems in grocery stores and cold storage.
Key points
- CISA, the FBI and other federal departments warned hackers are compromising internet-connected refrigeration and cold chain monitoring
- Two waves of attacks raised temperatures on freezers and chilling units in at least a dozen countries, spoiling food.
- Agencies urged affected industries to remove remote control systems from the internet and retire unsupported equipment.
Why it matters. Hackers could change refrigeration temperatures and cause fire hazards, inventory loss and equipment damage, according to the agencies, putting food, medicine and blood supply chains at risk.
The U.S. government warned of an "ongoing cyber threat" to industrial refrigeration units in a joint statement on Thursday, issued by CISA, the FBI and several other federal departments. Two separate waves of attacks let hackers raise temperatures on freezers and chilling units in at least a dozen countries, spoiling food and destroying produce. Some affected units were remote-controlled systems made by Danish company Danfoss, which had stopped providing security updates to customers.
Latest updates
US Warns of Ongoing Cyber Threat to Industrial Freezers
The US government has warned of an ongoing cyber threat to industrial refrigeration units. Reports describe cyberattacks targeting freezers and fridges in supermarkets around the world, at US military bases, and at least one blood bank. The US cybersecurity agency CISA, the FBI and several other federal departments issued the warning in a joint statement. The affected sectors reportedly include food, transportation and healthcare. The statement指 underscores the risk that compromised refrigeration could disrupt food supply and medical storage. Officials have not been quoted in the available text on attribution or the number of devices affected.