Mysterious freezer failures at US military bases trigger federal investigation
The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division is investigating mysterious freezer and refrigerator malfunctions that spoiled food at military bases across the U.S., amid concerns the outages may have been caused by a cyberattack.
Army CID's Cyber Field Office is working with the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to determine what caused the refrigeration failures at military commissaries in August. Investigators are also collaborating with French law enforcement to understand similar refrigeration outages in Europe as authorities examine whether the incidents could be connected.
In late August, at least six commissaries, or on-base stores where military personnel buy food, suddenly experienced refrigeration malfunctions. Fort Huachuca in Arizona reported that a freezer 'went into defrost mode where it heated up all the food,' with the base confirming it was 'spoiled.'
French supermarket cyberattack
Several weeks ago, a suspected cyberattack targeted hundreds of French supermarkets, including Intermarché and Cooperative U. Hackers allegedly manipulated refrigerators to reach temperatures of 122 degrees Fahrenheit, spoiling large quantities of food and sparking fires across Europe.
Trust us when we say it was 'spoiled,'
Ongoing investigation
Investigators are examining whether the mysterious refrigeration failures were caused by a cyberattack, though officials have not publicly determined what caused the malfunctions or who may have been responsible. In at least one case, refrigeration units' temperatures were turned up overnight, leaving large quantities of food wilted or spoiled by morning.
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