Perhaps Connecting Fridges to the Internet Was a Bad Idea

A series of attacks has remotely taken control of supermarket refrigerators and freezers across Europe, raising their temperatures until food spoiled. Similar incidents affected France’s blood bank, while U.S. military-base freezers have also malfunctioned in a suspected attack. The perpetrators and their motives remain unknown, but the method appears straightforward: internet-connected refrigeration systems are vulnerable to password guessing, especially when operators leave factory-set credentials unchanged. Once inside, hackers can repeatedly activate a freezer’s defrost heater, making it warm enough to ruin its contents.

Disconnecting the equipment is not a simple solution. Internet access helps food companies monitor temperatures, meet safety and traceability requirements, spot faults, and manage equipment remotely when specialist technicians are unavailable. Yet the cold chain - which handles most of the food eaten in the United States - has invested relatively little in cybersecurity, and its sprawling network of warehouses, trucks, containers, and stores is poorly mapped even by officials. The attacks expose a mismatch: refrigeration is vital infrastructure, but the industry has not treated it with the security or public attention given to power and water systems. Stronger protection and a clearer understanding of the network are needed; meanwhile, cyberattacks, extreme heat, and power outages all threaten the same result: spoiled food and empty shelves.