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US agencies warn businesses of hacker threat to commercial refrigeration after attacks in Europe

The agencies do not say whether US systems were hit, while Army investigators look into August refrigeration outages at six military bases.

10 news outlets reported this
Liberal3 outletsa federal warning and Europe's widening cyberattack waveCenter2 outletsEurope's grocery hacks raise worries for AmericaConservative5 outletshackers targeting food and medicine, and US risk
Published 3 min readMoney and daily life
Overview

Five federal agencies issued a joint notice on Thursday warning of ongoing cyber threat activity aimed at commercial refrigeration systems used in healthcare, agriculture, transportation and other industries. They include the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the FBI. The agencies say hackers exploit systems that are unpatched or connected to the internet.

A successful attack could change temperatures, with possible fire hazards and loss of inventory. The agencies urge businesses to change passwords, disconnect devices from the internet and update software. They did not specify whether any US refrigeration systems have been targeted, and US officials have not attributed the European incidents to any group.

The notice follows attacks in Europe. On Monday, supermarkets in Belgium, Sweden, Luxembourg and other countries reported freezers set to high temperatures. French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said roughly 700 of France's 10,000 supermarkets were affected.

France's health ministry confirmed that three regional blood banks were hit, but staff moved the blood to unconnected refrigerators and the French blood service said nothing was lost. Refrigeration outages at six US military bases in August are under investigation by the Army Criminal Investigation Division. According to Fox News, a cyberattack has not been established as the cause.

Key figures
  • roughly 700 of 10,000 French supermarkets affected, per Finance Minister Roland Lescure — The Epoch Times
  • 13 SuperValu stores Irish stores hit, per wholesaler Musgrave — The Epoch Times
  • 122 degrees Fahrenheit temperature reached in some European supermarket freezers — Fox News
  • six U.S. military bases sites with refrigeration outages in August — CBS News
  • €100 million amount a French bank said hackers stole — Semafor

Three sides of the story

Liberal3 outlets

a federal warning and Europe's widening cyberattack wave

CBS News leads with the federal notice. It quotes CISA saying attackers "could change the temperature" of refrigeration systems. It also quotes CISA's Chris Butera, the agency's acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity, who says every organization relying on refrigeration should "assume it could be a target."

CBS adds the August outages at six military bases, the Army's investigation, and Joshua Corman of the Institute for Security and Technology, who expects more attacks. Semafor places the story in a wider European pattern. One item says supermarket refrigeration was compromised for the second time in a month and that France's blood service said its attack was thwarted before damage.

It notes that experts frequently blame Russia. A later Semafor item pairs the fridge hack, said to affect 10 countries, with a French bank's report of a €100 million theft, and quotes the head of the Dutch cybersecurity agency: "patch, patch, and patch." NPR reports that a healthcare intelligence-sharing group is warning members to lock down systems after the French blood bank attack.

Center2 outlets

Europe's grocery hacks raise worries for America

NewsNation asks whether hackers are targeting America's food supply, reporting that cyberattacks on European grocery stores raise concerns about threats in the United States. Forbes says anonymous hackers accessed temperature controllers and ruined millions of dollars of frozen supermarket goods, and that retailers are braced for worse.

Conservative5 outlets

hackers targeting food and medicine, and US risk

The Epoch Times leads with the federal warning that hackers are targeting refrigeration used for food and medicine. It quotes FBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman saying the systems "protect food, medicine and other temperature-sensitive products." It then details the European supermarket hits, including a Stockholm store manager's report of freezers reaching 50 degrees Celsius.

Fox News centers former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker, who warns the incidents are "psychological warfare" that could reach the US. It also reports the Army inquiry into August commissary outages and gives her advice on keeping food, water and medicine at home. The New York Post calls the French blood bank hack a "sick attack."

It cites Le Canard Enchaîné, which reported the hack appeared to try to raise units from minus 22 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit, and notes suspected Russian sabotage attacks on the rise in Europe. RedState follows the blood service's account of staff moving supplies and asks Coolworld, which maintains the controls, for specifics.

What a side did not mention
Money and daily life

Fox News quotes former FBI agent Nicole Parker urging families to stock food, water and medicine they need, and to plan how they would stay in touch during an outage. RedState reports that the Federal Trade Commission advises disabling remote access on devices that do not need it, along with changing default passwords, updating software and enabling two-factor authentication where offered.

All sources: 11 articles from 10 outlets

Liberal (4)

Center (2)

Conservative (5)

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