Agencies urge immediate review of internet-connected refrigeration and cold chain systems

Federal agencies Nov. 5 issued a bulletin saying that they are aware of malicious cyber activity targeting industrial refrigeration and cold chain monitoring systems globally, including systems used within the healthcare sector. The agencies warned that threat actors may exploit unpatched or internet-accessible refrigeration controllers to remotely alter temperature settings, trigger extended defrost or heating cycles, cause inventory loss, create equipment hazards and disrupt temperature monitoring capabilities. The agencies are urging organizations to identify internet-exposed systems, remove unnecessary remote access, apply available patches and firmware updates, implement strong authentication controls, segment operational technology networks and review alerting and monitoring capabilities.

For more information on this or other cyber and risk issues, contact John Riggi, AHA national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, at jriggi@aha.org or Scott Gee, AHA deputy national advisor for cybersecurity and risk, at sgee@aha.org. For the latest cyber and risk resources and threat intelligence, visit aha.org/cybersecurity.