Overview
- Military commissary freezers on multiple U.S. bases entered defrost mode and spoiled stock in late August, with at least one base posting on Aug. 26 that a freezer "went into defrost mode where it heated up all the food."
- The Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Cyber Field Office and a unit of U.S. Cyber Command are leading a joint probe and working with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and French law enforcement to compare the U.S. outages with an October attack on hundreds of French stores.
- French investigators say hackers overrode temperature controls at more than 350 establishments in October, forcing mass disposal of frozen goods and causing some refrigeration units to catch fire and trigger sprinkler damage.
- Security researchers and manufacturer statements point to internet‑exposed industrial controllers, notably older Danfoss and Copeland units running outdated firmware, as a plausible attack vector identified in prior Claroty Team82 research.
- The investigation is active and has not publicly attributed responsibility or released definitive technical findings, but officials warn the incidents highlight risks to military food supply, commissary access for service families, and wider cold‑chain resilience.