“In some cases, manufacturers fail to implement basic safeguards, such as password policy enforcement, two-factor authentication and other standard security controls,” Dashchenko says.Ken Munro, a security researcher and CEO at UK-based Pen Test Partners, said some commercial refrigeration providers use cellular modems to manage equipment remotely, bypassing the supermarket’s own network and cybersecurity protections. That means the refrigeration systems are operating without the oversight of the supermarket’s cybersecurity team.Munro explains this is one of the problems with how commercial refrigeration systems are managed. Providers can install equipment and remotely access it without going through the same security checks as other systems operating inside a supermarket.Once hackers get access, they can change the temperature, interfere with defrost cycles or alter when the refrigeration system runs, depending on how much access they have.“A controller does not need to be destroyed or completely shut down to cause damage,” Preminger says. “Manipulating the conditions inside a refrigerator or freezer can be enough to spoil food or compromise other temperature-sensitive products.”French authorities have opened an investigation into the attacks, but have yet to publicly identify who was responsible or what motivated them. “My hunch is [it was a] disgruntled employee for the French attacks, then copycats for the newer attacks,” Munro says. “But that’s just speculation.”How Secure Are Your Household Appliances?But could hackers do the same thing to the smart refrigerator sitting in your kitchen? Not quite. While household appliances can face similar cybersecurity vulnerabilities, most devices aren’t typically exposed to the public internet the same way commercial refrigeration systems are.“Any device that connects to a network, communicates with an external service or allows remote management introduces a potential attack surface,” Preminger says.However, Munro explains, there’s a key difference between the supermarket fridges being hacked in Europe and the ones people have at home. Most household refrigerators connect to the internet through a home router, giving them an extra layer of protection. “[A] big difference between your home fridge is that it’s behind your ISP router, and that provides a layer of protection that wasn’t available to the supermarket fridges,” he says.Munro has spent years investigating vulnerabilities in internet-connected devices, including household appliances. Over a decade ago, when Internet of Things and smart appliances were in their early stages of development, his team at Pen Test Partners found a flaw in a Samsung smart fridge that could allow hackers to intercept users’ Google login credentials. In 2018, they took apart a newer Samsung model with a 30-inch touchscreen to examine its software.
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