U.S. Agencies Warn Refrigeration Controller Attacks Could Cause Fires and Inventory Losses

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Agriculture and Department of Transportation have issued a joint advisory warning that threat actors are actively targeting industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems worldwide, exploiting unpatched or internet-accessible controllers to force continuous heating and defrost cycles that can spoil inventory and create fire hazards. The warning follows weeks of attacks on hundreds of supermarkets across Europe, and the agencies urge operators to use strong authentication, patch systems, remove internet exposure and change default passwords.