U.S. Government Warns of Ongoing Cyber Threat to Industrial Refrigeration Systems
The U.S. government has issued a warning regarding an "ongoing cyber threat" targeting industrial refrigeration systems. A joint statement from the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the departments of health, transport, and agriculture indicates that unidentified "malicious cyber actors" are exploiting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers. These attacks are affecting retail grocery and cold storage facilities. If successful, these exploits could allow hackers to alter temperatures, potentially leading to physical damage such as fire hazards, significant loss of inventory, and reduced service life of the systems. Chris Butera, CISA's acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity, emphasized that any organization relying on refrigeration and monitoring systems should consider itself a potential target. FBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman noted that these systems are being targeted a...
