Key facts
- The statement said unidentified malicious cyber actors were targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers.
- The agencies said retail grocery and cold storage facilities were the targets named in the statement.
- The statement said successful exploitation could let actors change temperatures and possibly cause fire hazards, inventory loss and changes to system service life.
- Chris Butera, CISA's acting executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said every organization depending on refrigeration and monitoring systems should assume it could be a target.
The United States warned on November 5, 2026 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 unidentified "malicious cyber actors" were targeting vulnerabilities in internet-accessible electronic temperature and commercial refrigeration controllers in retail grocery and cold storage facilities. It was issued by the FBI, the cyber defense agency CISA and other government departments.
"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," the statement said.
"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.