U.S. Agencies Warn of Attacks on Refrigeration Systems

U.S. agencies warned that malicious actors are targeting internet-connected industrial refrigeration controllers and cold-chain monitoring systems, urging operators to secure equipment used to store food, medicine and other temperature-sensitive products. The joint advisory was issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI and the departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Transportation. It says attackers may exploit unpatched equipment, weak configurations or authentication flaws to alter temperatures and defrost settings, or interfere with monitoring. If successful, those changes could spoil inventory, damage equipment, create fire hazards or leave products stored at unsafe temperatures, the agencies said. The affected systems are used in grocery stores, cold-storage facilities and sectors including health care, food production, agriculture, chemical manufacturing and transportation. The agencies urged businesses to remove unnecessary public internet access, secure remote connections that must remain available, strengthen passwords and authentication, and install software updates. They also recommended isolating operational...