Five federal agencies warned of ongoing cyber threat activity targeting refrigeration systems

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Five federal agencies warned Thursday of ongoing cyber threat activity involving industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems used in sectors including health care, agriculture and transportation. The joint notice from CISA, the FBI and the departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture and Transportation said unpatched or internet-accessible controllers can be exploited to alter temperatures or trigger heating and defrost cycles. Possible consequences include fire hazards, inventory loss and changes to equipment service life, the agencies said. Chris Butera, CISA’s acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said organizations relying on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume they could be targets. The agencies urged operators to strengthen authentication, update software, remove unnecessary remote access and disconnect or isolate exposed systems from the public internet and corporate networks.