Israel’s National Cyber Directorate has issued an urgent warning to supermarket chains, food companies and logistics centers across the country, following an unusual and unprecedented wave of cyberattacks throughout Europe aimed at taking over refrigeration and freezer systems.

The alert warns of attacks that seize control of cooling systems through controllers connected to the internet. In many of the cases reported in Europe, hackers exploited security weaknesses in networked control systems and took them over remotely.

The attackers then changed the temperature settings and switched on defrost functions, causing refrigerators and freezers to heat up quickly. The result was the spoilage of enormous amounts of food and very heavy financial losses. Beyond the ruined food, there were also reports of disruptions to supermarket operations, damage to expensive equipment, and even fires that broke out as a result of the malfunctions.

In light of the severity of the situation in Europe, the Directorate has reached out to Israeli supermarket chains in recent hours, urging them to immediately check their refrigeration and control systems, with special attention to systems that allow remote access for technicians and service providers. The chains were asked to report back once they have carried out the checks and protective steps.

Among the urgent recommendations: making sure control systems are not directly exposed to the internet, immediately changing default passwords, updating outdated systems, securing all remote access with multi-factor authentication, and setting up independent alerts that detect and report unusual temperature changes.

The Directorate stressed that the incidents in Europe show the critical need to protect not only companies’ computer networks, but also the operational systems connected to the internet, since an attack on them can directly disrupt businesses, cause physical damage and even affect the supply of essential products to the public. It called on all organizations running remotely controlled refrigeration systems to review their protection immediately and report any unusual activity.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)