National Cyber Directorate Warns of Attacks on Cooling Systems

Israel's National Cyber Directorate issued an urgent warning on Sunday regarding cyberattacks targeting cooling and freezing systems in the country. These attacks, which exploit internet-connected controllers, could significantly impact supermarket chains, food companies, and logistics centers. The directorate urged marketing networks to immediately inspect their cooling and control systems, particularly those allowing remote access for technicians and service providers.

The alert follows a wave of unusual attacks in Europe where perpetrators successfully gained remote control of temperature regulation systems in supermarkets. By exploiting vulnerabilities in internet-connected control systems, attackers remotely altered temperature settings and activated defrosting mechanisms. These actions led to the warming of refrigerators and freezers, spoiling large quantities of food, causing physical damage, significant financial losses, disruptions to business operations, and in some cases, equipment damage and fires.

The incidents highlight how security weaknesses in operational systems or a lack of basic protective measures can rapidly lead to damage to goods, business continuity, and even safety. In response, the National Cyber Directorate recommended that marketing networks take several immediate actions. These include ensuring control systems are not directly exposed to the internet, changing passwords, updating outdated systems, securing remote access, and activating independent alerts for unusual temperature changes. The networks have been asked to report back to the directorate on their inspections and the implementation of these protective measures.