U.S. agencies are urging operators across food, agriculture, transportation and medicine-shipping industries to secure refrigeration controls, warning that intrusions could alter temperatures and damage stored goods.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a joint statement Nov. 5. It warned of hacker attempts against refrigeration-control systems accessible online in grocery stores and cold-storage facilities.
The agencies said unauthorized access could let intruders change operating temperatures. Possible consequences include fire hazards, inventory losses and effects on equipment service life.
The agencies advise operators to install available patches and strengthen passwords, while disconnecting remote-control systems from the internet and replacing equipment its vendor no longer supports.
“Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target,” said Chris Butera, CISA’s acting cybersecurity chief.
