Feds warn of potential cyberattacks on industrial refrigerators

After a wave of attacks in Europe, U.S. officials are warning of The U.S. government encouraged grocery stores, healthcare facilities and other businesses that use commercial refrigeration to tighten their security measures on Thursday following a series of cyberattacks that remotely changed the temperatures of commercial freezers and fridges across Europe. Five federal agencies issued a joint notice, warning of "ongoing cyber threat activity" that could target refrigeration systems used across healthcare, agriculture, transportation and other U.S. industries. Bad actors globally are exploiting vulnerabilities and weaknesses in refrigeration systems that are "unpatched" or connected to the internet, the agencies said. "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 Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement, which was issued in conjunction with the FBI, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation.

In a fact sheet, CISA said businesses that rely on industrial refrigeration should take precautions to protect their systems, including changing passwords, disconnecting system devices from the internet and making software updates to address vulnerabilities. "Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target," Chris Butera, acting executive assistant director for