European Supermarket Freezers and French Blood Bank Hit by Cyberattacks via Exposed Controllers
Smart operations
Refrigeration controllers in European supermarkets and a French blood agency were remotely breached to raise temperatures, spoiling goods and posing physical safety risks. Security investigations attribute the incidents to operational technology devices exposed to the public internet with outdated firmware or default credentials, prompting official guidance to disconnect them from public IPs and use VPNs.
A wave of cyberattacks targeted commercial cooling controllers across multiple European nations. Starting in mid-October, hundreds of supermarket freezers in France were remotely forced into defrost mode and heated, leading to spoiled food and several fires. In early November, attacks extended to stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, and cold storage sites at the French Blood Establishment (EFS). Security authorities including CERT-FR reported that attackers exploited internet-exposed operational technology (OT) controllers running unpatched or obsolete firmware. Authorities urge operators to disconnect these controllers from public networks and rely on secure VPN connections.
Key takeaways
- Supermarket freezers across several European countries and French blood agency sites had controllers remotely breached to raise temperatures, resulting in spoiled goods or storage risks.
- Analyses revealed that affected systems were primarily internet-exposed control panels from brands like Danfoss and Copeland, often carrying known unpatched flaws or default passwords.
- Agencies including France's CERT-FR recommend disconnecting exposed control interfaces from public IPs, migrating to secure VPNs, and evaluating physical retrofits or replacements for end-of-life units.
Source：科技報橘 Read the original ↗
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