Israel Issues Urgent Cyber Alert to Food Retailers Over Cooling System Threats

Israel's National Cyber Directorate has issued an urgent warning to the country's supermarket chains, food companies, and logistics centers regarding a significant cyber threat. The alert comes in response to a recent wave of unusual cyberattacks in Europe where hackers successfully gained remote control of internet-connected refrigeration and freezing systems in supermarkets. These attacks manipulated temperature settings, leading to the spoilage of large quantities of food, substantial financial losses, operational disruptions, and in some cases, equipment damage and fires.

The Directorate highlighted that these incidents demonstrate how security vulnerabilities in operational systems, or a lack of basic protective measures, can rapidly impact inventory, business continuity, and even safety. Attackers exploited weaknesses in internet-connected control systems to cause physical damage, including remotely altering temperature settings and activating defrost systems, which caused refrigerators and freezers to overheat.

Following the European events, the National Cyber Directorate has urged Israeli retail networks to immediately inspect their cooling and control systems, particularly those allowing remote access for technicians and service providers. The networks are required to report back on their inspections and implemented protective measures. Key recommendations include ensuring control systems are not directly exposed to the internet, changing default passwords, updating outdated systems, securing remote access with multi-factor authentication, and activating independent alerts for unusual temperature changes.

The Directorate emphasized that these attacks underscore the necessity of protecting not only information systems but also networked operational systems. Damage to these systems can directly affect business operations and the supply of essential goods to the public. All organizations operating remote cooling and control systems are encouraged to review their defenses and report any suspicious activity to the National Cyber Directorate's hotline at 119.