Cyber Directorate warns Israeli retailers after hackers raise fridge temperatures in Europe

Israel's National Cyber Directorate has told supermarket chains, food companies and logistics centers to secure their refrigeration systems immediately. The warning follows attacks in Europe in which hackers took control of cooling settings at dozens of stores and raised the temperatures in refrigerators and freezers, according to The Jerusalem Post.

The alert was issued on Monday. The damage reported in Europe includes spoiled food, damaged equipment, disrupted operations and fires, according to Israel National News and Arutz Sheva.

The Directorate asked the chains to check their systems and report back on the steps they take, Israel Hayom reported. No attack on an Israeli retailer has been reported.

The French precedent

The European wave comes about a month after a similar attack in France. Police there said hackers seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, causing fires and food losses, according to The Jerusalem Post. The Post reported that further incidents have since spread across Europe.

The affected chains and countries beyond France have not been named in Israeli coverage, and no one has been identified as responsible.

Why refrigeration is a target

Cooling systems in large stores and warehouses are often managed remotely, through software connected to the internet. That lets operators monitor temperatures across many sites from one place. It also gives attackers a way in if the systems are not properly protected.

Raising the temperature setting, or shutting units down, can ruin large stocks of food within hours. Equipment pushed outside normal operation can also be damaged, and fires were among the harms reported in Europe.

For Israeli chains, the risk is both financial and practical. A successful attack could mean heavy losses for a retailer. If a central logistics site were hit, shoppers could see gaps in supply. The Directorate's decision to include logistics centers in its warning points to concern about hubs that serve many stores at once, not only individual branches.

What the Directorate does

The National Cyber Directorate is a government body under the Prime Minister's Office. It sets civilian cyber-defense policy and issues public alerts to the private sector and critical infrastructure when it sees a threat that could reach Israel. Its standing advice to companies includes limiting remote access, updating software and keeping operational systems separate from office networks.

The Directorate has not said that any specific Israeli company has been targeted, or that it has evidence the European attackers are looking at Israel. The alert is preventive.