British security officials confirmed that hackers exploited unpatched technology to alter refrigeration temperatures in a couple of UK facilities, mirroring attacks in Ireland, Sweden, Estonia, and Belgium. These intrusions leverage known remote management system flaws that cyber security researchers had originally discovered months earlier. Earlier incidents in France previously devastated hundreds of supermarkets and suppliers by spoiling fresh and frozen inventory. NCSC head Dr Richard Horne warned that adversaries are now deploying artificial intelligence to rapidly discover and attack these neglected network vulnerabilities.
Key points
National Cyber Security Centre officials notified multiple organizations overnight after…: National Cyber Security Centre officials notified multiple organizations overnight after discovering active exploits against UK refrigeration systems.
Investigators have not yet identified the specific individuals or state actors responsibl…: Investigators have not yet identified the specific individuals or state actors responsible for the European supermarket attacks.
Critical infrastructure operators must immediately disconnect operational technologies fr…: Critical infrastructure operators must immediately disconnect operational technologies from the open internet to mitigate AI-accelerated vulnerability scanning.
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After hackers targeted refrigeration systems in supermarkets and food suppliers across Europe, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) says it is aware of "a couple of instances where vulnerable technology had been exploited in the UK".
The NCSC's chief executive Dr Richard Horne told the Today programme, on BBC Radio Four, that it had "worked through the night" to alert potentially affected organisations in the UK.
He said it had alerted "handfuls" of bodies, and that it was aware of a "couple of impacts".
It comes after supermarkets in countries including Ireland, Sweden, Estonia, and Belgium reported fridges being hiked in temperature on Monday.
The events followed attacks targeting supermarkets and food suppliers across France in early October.
Fridges in French supermarkets hit by cyber attack
Hundreds of stores were targeted by the overnight hack, which spoiled fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros.
Those attacks exploited vulnerabilities in some systems used to remotely control and manage cold refrigeration units, their temperatures and settings, that had been surfaced by cyber security researchers months prior.
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