United States security agencies have issued a formal warning advising organisations to protect industrial refrigeration and cold chain monitoring systems against ongoing cyber threats.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published a fact sheet recommending immediate action to close known security gaps.
“Globally, malicious cyber actors are targeting vulnerabilities and weaknesses in unpatched or internet-accessible electronic temperature controllers and commercial refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities,” CISA warned.
“If successfully exploited, the actors could change the temperature and possibly cause physical impacts such as fire hazards, loss of inventory and changes to the service life of the system.”
CISA acting executive assistant director for Cybersecurity, Chris Butera, said every organisation that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target.
FBI cyber branch operations director Brett Leatherman, said industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems protect food, medicine, and other temperature-sensitive products, making them attractive targets for malicious cyber actors.
“These attacks are occurring across the globe, putting inventory and equipment at risk,” he said.