US warns of 'ongoing cyber threat' to industrial refrigeration systems

WASHINGTON — The United States is warning of an "ongoing cyber threat" to industrial refrigeration systems, saying in a statement issued Thursday that every organization that depends on cold storage should assume it could fall into the hackers' crosshairs. The statement said that unidentified "malicious cyber actors" were targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities. "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," said the statement, which was issued by the FBI, the cyber defense agency CISA, and other government departments. "Every organization that depends on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target," said Chris Butera, CISA's acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity.