The Pentagon is treating a series of freezer failures at US military bases in August that spoiled food as a suspected cyberattack, four officials familiar with the matter told “Reuters“.
The problems have affected at least six commissariats - the stores on military bases where service members and their families buy food. In at least one case, the system did not simply stop working, but increased the temperature in the cooling facilities overnight.
Freezers went into defrost mode
The military installation Fort Huachuca in Arizona reported on August 26 that the freezer went into defrost mode and warmed food. As a result, significant quantities of products were thrown out.
Earlier, the Pentagon confirmed that several commissaries were experiencing cooling problems, but did not specify a cause or say whether the individual cases were related. Among the reported affected sites are bases in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Wyoming and Georgia.
“We are working in close coordination with partners from other institutions and law enforcement agencies“, the Pentagon said of the involvement of US Cyber Command. The military department did not provide further details about the investigation.
Link to attack in France being investigated
US investigators have reached out to French counterparts over a similar incident involving refrigeration systems in supermarkets in France earlier in October. In which temperatures in internet-connected refrigerators and freezers were remotely changed, leading to food spoilage and property damage.
The US Army Criminal Investigation Department's Cyber Unit confirmed that it is involved in the investigation and is working with French law enforcement to clarify the “outages of refrigeration systems in Europe“.
Cause and perpetrator not yet identified
There is currently no confirmation that hackers have gained access to the systems of US military stores. It is also not known whether the affected sites used the same brand or model of controllers.
The case highlights a potential risk to systems that manage physical infrastructure over the internet. Industrial cybersecurity experts have previously warned that outdated controllers and software could allow remote changes to cooling system settings. It remains to be seen whether such a vulnerability has been exploited at US bases.
Sources: reuters.com, militarytimes.com, stripes.com