Cybersecurity research identifies 13,000 exposed refrigeration services

Research from Forescout’s Vedere Labs has identified 12,976 internet-exposed refrigeration services across 6,017 public IP addresses in 99 countries. This exposure poses significant cybersecurity risks to hospitals and facilities reliant on temperature-controlled storage, as attackers could potentially manipulate temperatures, defrost cycles, and alarms.

In a hospital setting, such vulnerabilities could lead to the spoilage of vaccines, medications, and medical supplies, disrupting patient care. The findings follow a recent cyberattack on more than 700 French supermarkets, where attackers manipulated refrigeration controls to cause food loss. Researchers noted that 80% of observed Danfoss StoreView services were running older firmware potentially susceptible to known vulnerabilities.

To mitigate these risks, companies like RAD are offering IoT solutions that use independent wireless sensors to monitor cold-storage conditions. These sensors provide a secondary layer of verification, alerting staff to temperature drifts even if the primary refrigeration controller's alarms have been compromised or manipulated by attackers.