FBI Warns Cyberattackers Strike Cold-Chain Systems Worldwide
The FBI says hackers are targeting industrial refrigeration and temperature-monitoring systems, raising concerns for grocery stores and cold-storage facilities. European incidents have disrupted freezer and refrigerator temperatures, while U.S. investigators are examining spoiled food at six military commissaries after malfunctions in August.
The FBI warned that cyberattackers are targeting industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems worldwide, after remote hackers caused temperature increases at supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg and Estonia.
The agency said the systems help keep food, medicine and other products at safe temperatures. It urged organizations using them to secure internet-connected controllers and strengthen access protections.
Some European stores had to discard spoiled food after the attacks. In the United States, freezer malfunctions that ruined food at six military base commissaries in August are under investigation as a suspected hack.
FBI calls for stronger safeguards
In a post on X, the FBI Cyber Branch said: “The FBI and our partners are seeing malicious cyber activity targeting industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems around the world.”
The agency said attackers have used electronic temperature and refrigeration controllers to cause harm at grocery stores and cold-storage facilities. It also cited refrigeration components at three foreign blood service facilities.
“While this attack was unsuccessful due to the proper alert mechanisms in place, security weaknesses in unpatched or internet-accessible controllers can allow attackers to change system settings, potentially causing inventory loss and equipment damage,” the FBI said.
The agency advised organizations to remove controllers from the public internet, use firewalls to control access and replace default passwords. It also urged them to check how vendors configure devices, set safe temperature limits and ensure alerts reach the right contacts.
Assistant Director of the FBI Cyber Division Brett Leatherman said attackers were gaining access through insecure equipment. “Attackers are getting in through controllers that are unpatched, reachable from the internet, or still using the default passwords listed in the manufacturer’s manual.”
U.S. military commissary cases under review
The Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Cyber Field Office, the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service are working with French law enforcement to determine whether the U.S. commissary malfunctions are connected to the European grocery incidents.
Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker said the threat could reach U.S. stores. “What we’re seeing right now is in Europe and other places, but it can very well happen on our soil,” she told Fox News Digital.
Cybersecurity firm Claroty’s field chief technology officer, Sean Tufts, also urged U.S. grocers to pay attention to the incidents. “U.S. supermarkets should absolutely be paying attention to what is happening in Europe.”
