U.S. Agencies Alert on Cyber Threats to Industrial Refrigeration Systems

U.S. government agencies including the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Transportation issued a joint advisory warning that threat actors are targeting industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems. The advisory says attackers may exploit unpatched or internet-exposed controllers to alter settings, forcing units into continuous heating or defrost cycles, which can create fire hazards, cause inventory loss and compromise product safety.

The agencies identified authentication bypasses, arbitrary code injection and weak configurations as common attack vectors. They urged owners and operators to implement strong authentication, keep firmware updated, identify internet-accessible devices, isolate operational-technology equipment, change default passwords, retire legacy hardware, remove unnecessary remote access and secure any required remote connections.

"Industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems protect food, medicine and other temperature-sensitive products, making them attractive targets for malicious cyber actors," said FBI Cyber Branch Operations Director Brett Leatherman.

"We are seeing these systems targeted across critical infrastructure sectors globally, putting inventory and equipment at risk."

Recent incidents have seen hundreds of European supermarkets compromised, with attackers raising temperatures to as high as 50 °C (122 °F) or forcing defrost cycles, resulting in spoiled food and financial losses. Affected sites included major chains, independent grocers and butchers in multiple countries, and the French Blood Establishment reported temperature spikes at three plasma storage facilities.

Security research firm Censys reported that hundreds of Danfoss StoreView and Copeland/Dixell XWEB refrigeration controllers remain exposed online, though the numbers have fallen since early October 2026. The firm noted that North America accounts for about 38 % of global industrial control system exposure, with Asia’s share rising and Europe’s declining, but overall exposure remains high, posing a continued risk to critical infrastructure.