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France Says Hackers Turned Refrigeration Into a Heating Plan
· New York time
France says Iranian military hackers took over refrigeration controllers at about 700 retail sites last month, raising temperatures overnight and spoiling millions of dollars' worth of food. The French allegation turns a routine part of grocery operations into a question of international security. The claimed attack illustrates how connected equipment can have physical consequences. Stores depend on refrigeration to keep perishable food usable, and remote controls make it possible to manage temperatures across many locations. That convenience also creates a potential point of vulnerability if an intruder gains access. The attribution is France's assessment, not an independently established verdict in this report. French authorities say the operation served Iran. The scale they describe, however, shows why the security of industrial controls matters beyond the firms that own them: a cyber incident can damage goods as well as data, with costs for suppliers and retailers. The familiar image of a cyberattack features frantic warnings on a screen. This one, as described by France, worked through an appliance quietly doing the opposite of its job. The grocery industry's great innovation was to connect the cold chain. The alleged intruders apparently appreciated the connection more than the cold.
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