Pentagon investigates possible cyberattack causing freezer failures at US military bases
A US official says investigators are looking into whether hackers caused food spoilage at six military commissaries in August.
The Pentagon is investigating whether a cyberattack caused commercial freezer failures that spoiled food at several US military bases in August, according to a US official familiar with the matter, as reported by the Times of India.
The disruptions affected approximately six commissaries, which are grocery stores serving service members and their families. At Fort Huachuca in Arizona, officials found a walk-in freezer had unexpectedly entered defrost mode, ruining the stored provisions.
The US Cyber Command and Department of Defense law enforcement agencies are leading the inquiry. Investigators have not publicly named any suspects or confirmed the technical cause of the equipment failures.
US investigators are also coordinating with French authorities. In early October, hackers reportedly manipulated temperature controls on cooling systems at more than 350 locations in France, causing refrigerators and freezers to overheat at various supermarket chains.
The Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center has previously warned that internet-accessible industrial controls are targets for malicious actors. A 2021 Department of Homeland Security assessment also noted that cyber-induced refrigeration failures pose risks to food distribution networks.
