Officials suspect Iran of cyberattacks on military base freezers

Anadolu / Contributor/ Getty Images

Tehran is also suspected to have backed recent attacks on U.S. water-treatment equipment.

U.S. officials suspect Iran-linked hackers are behind a series of cyberattacks that have targeted freezers at military bases around the country and caused them to malfunction, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The outages have affected around six commissaries, the on-base grocery stores serving military personnel. The people spoke on the condition of anonymity to communicate sensitive knowledge about the intrusions, which began around late August.

It’s not clear how exactly the cyberintruders may have accessed the freezer systems, though various digital vulnerabilities tied to freezer controls can expose the equipment to hacking and sabotage. It’s possible the assessments may change as investigators learn more about the hacks.

The attacks, if fully confirmed to be tied to Iran, would demonstrate the nation’s ability to disrupt certain military-related equipment inside the United States through cyber means, and comes as the Trump administration is reportedly planning follow-up strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections next week.

The attribution would also fit a broader pattern of suspected Iranian activity against equipment controlling water treatment processes in recent months.

Iran has previously combined hacking in lead-ups to elections. During the 2024 presidential campaign, U.S. officials attributed the theft of Trump campaign material to Tehran⁠.

Cyber Command and various Defense Department law enforcement units are probing the freezer incidents. French authorities are also working with officials examining the matter. Earlier this month, hackers overrode temperature controls on commercial refrigeration equipment at some 350 French establishments, which forced supermarkets to discard spoiled food.

The investigation draws attention to the computers that control everyday equipment used to store and handle food, an often overlooked area of cybersecurity where a hack can spoil supplies or interrupt distribution of goods.

The Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center, an industry group that shares cyber threat intelligence on the nation's food supply, has warned that attackers can target internet-accessible industrial controls that may not have optimal cyberdefenses in place.

NEXT STORY: Six military freezers went bad in August. Was it a cyber attack?

阿纳多卢通讯社/投稿人/盖蒂图片社

德黑兰也被怀疑支持了近期针对美国水处理设备的袭击。

据两名知情人士透露，美国官员怀疑与伊朗有关的黑客是造成全国各地军事基地冰柜故障的一系列网络攻击的幕后黑手。

此次断电事件影响了大约六家军需品商店，这些商店是为军人提供服务的基地内杂货店。知情人士要求匿名，以便提供有关此次入侵事件的敏感信息。入侵事件大约从八月下旬开始。

目前尚不清楚网络入侵者究竟是如何入侵冷冻系统的，但与冷冻系统控制系统相关的各种数字漏洞可能使设备容易遭受黑客攻击和破坏。随着调查人员对黑客攻击了解的深入，评估结果可能会有所改变。

如果这些袭击最终被证实与伊朗有关，则表明伊朗有能力通过网络手段破坏美国境内的某些军事相关设备。与此同时，据报道，特朗普政府正计划在下周美国中期选举后对伊朗进行后续打击。

这一归因也符合近几个月来伊朗涉嫌针对控制水处理过程的设备进行活动的更广泛模式。

伊朗此前曾多次在选举前夕发动黑客攻击。在2024年总统竞选期间，美国官员将特朗普竞选材料的窃取归咎于德黑兰。

网络司令部和国防部多个执法部门正在调查这些冷冻柜事件。法国当局也正与负责调查此事的官员合作。本月初，黑客入侵了法国约350家商户的商用冷藏设备温度控制系统，迫使超市丢弃变质食品。

这项调查引起了人们对控制日常食品储存和处理设备的计算机的关注，这是网络安全领域一个经常被忽视的领域，黑客攻击可能会破坏食品供应或中断货物配送。

食品和农业信息共享与分析中心是一个行业组织，负责共享有关国家食品供应的网络威胁情报。该中心警告称，攻击者可能会攻击可通过互联网访问的工业控制系统，而这些控制系统可能没有部署最佳的网络防御措施。

下一篇报道：8月份有6台军用冷冻柜发生故障。这是网络攻击吗？