Hackers can hijack grocery store freezers. What about our homes?
Cyberattacks on grocery store refrigeration systems across Europe sent temperatures soaring on Monday, spoiling food and causing significant financial losses, while France's national emergency blood supply network was also compromised this week.
The second cyberattack on European grocery store refrigeration systems in less than a month has caused widespread disruption, with temperatures in some units soaring to 122° Fahrenheit and destroying a huge amount of food.
The incidents have also exposed the vulnerability of critical infrastructure, as France's national emergency blood supply network was compromised this week, though alert and backup systems prevented cold storage facilities from being shut down and no supplies were lost.
The attacks have renewed wider concerns about the growing risks of internet-connected consumer 'smart' technology, which experts warn could create potential entry points for hackers.
Vulnerabilities in everyday appliances
The concern among some experts is that devices pitched as time-saving conveniences for consumers could also create potential entry points for hackers.
From heating systems and smart TVs to security cameras, door locks and ovens, millions of household appliances are now online, and like any computer, they can have weaknesses.
Our homes may be more vulnerable than many people think. Smart fridges, TVs, cameras, and locks are small computers connected to the internet, and like any computer, they can have weaknesses.
The problem is often simple: default or reused passwords, old software, or accounts with weak security.
Professor George Loukas, head of the Centre for Sustainable Cyber Security at the University of Greenwich, said vulnerabilities in some mass-produced devices could potentially expose millions of households simultaneously.
One flaw in a popular model opens the door to every home that owns it.
Consequences of a hacked device
The consequences could extend beyond hackers simply switching an appliance on or off remotely, to 'anything the device is already allowed to do,' Loukas said.
If an app can turn off your heating, unlock your door or switch off your camera, so can a hacker. The physical harm comes from using the system as designed, just with malicious intent and controlled by someone other than you.
Unauthorized access to a camera or microphone could reveal when people are at home, what they are doing and, potentially, their conversations.
A compromised device can sometimes give hackers access to other devices on the same network, potentially exposing personal or financial information.
There can also be physical consequences, for example changing a fridge temperature, interfering with an alarm system, or opening a smart lock.
In 2025, U.S. cybersecurity officials identified a critical vulnerability in certain WiFi thermostats that could allow hackers to gain full administrative control of the units.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission documented cases involving Ring security cameras in which hackers gained access to accounts and used cameras to spy on and harass homeowners.
The risk of large-scale attacks
Experts say the greater danger may not be hackers targeting individual homes, but exploiting vulnerabilities across millions of identical devices.
In 2016, the Mirai malware infected hundreds of thousands of internet-connected devices, including household routers and security cameras, transforming them into a network capable of launching large-scale cyberattacks.
With AI, an attack that once needed a skilled team working for weeks can now be run by one person.
This lowers the bar for who can cause disruption at scale.
When millions of homes rely on the same device, a single flaw becomes everyone's problem.
How to protect your home
The experts who spoke with CBS News emphasize that ordinary, individual households are unlikely to be deliberately targeted.
I suggest awareness, not fear.
Comfort has a cost. Before buying a smart device, we should ask, 'Do I really need this to be online, and what happens if it is hacked?'
He recommended changing default passwords on all devices, enabling two-factor authentication on those that allow it, regularly updating software, and retaining manual control over essential systems.
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