U.S. Agencies Warn of Cyber Threat to Industrial Refrigeration

Five federal agencies issued a joint statement Thursday, Nov. 5, warning that hackers are targeting internet-connected refrigeration controls at grocery stores and cold-storage facilities.

The agencies were the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The warning covers critical infrastructure in food, agriculture, transportation and medicine-shipping industries.

An intrusion could let attackers change temperatures, creating fire hazards, inventory losses or changes to a system’s service life. The agencies urged operators to disconnect remote-control systems from the internet, change and strengthen passwords, apply available patches and replace equipment no longer supported by its vendor.

“Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target,” said Chris Butera, CISA’s acting cybersecurity chief.