Cold chain, new ACN alert: urgent checks on refrigeration systems

Immediately check the cold chain protections and secure the plant control systems. The National Cybersecurity Agency returns to urge public and private entities: the measures already recommended must be adopted "with the utmost urgency". The recall comes in light of recent evidence that has emerged internationally and concerns both refrigeration technologies and industrial remote control and supervision systems.

The priority indicated by the ACN is to remove direct exposure of the administrative and control interfaces to the Internet, verify the integrity of the operating parameters and ensure that the alarms function correctly. The verification and mitigation measures referred to by the Agency aim to prevent compromises that can affect the continuity of activities and the safety of people.

At the heart of the notice are systems on which essential refrigeration, storage and monitoring activities depend, regardless of the sector in which they are used. If exposed without adequate protection, management, supervision and control systems can allow unauthorized access.

The consequences can go beyond the alteration of operational parameters: an intrusion can also change alarm thresholds and compromise notification functionality. Therefore, both the functioning of the systems and the mechanisms that must report anomalies can be affected.

The ACN indicates the risk of interruption of refrigeration processes, deterioration of stored products and materials, up to the unavailability of services. These are consequences that can impact operational continuity and people's health. If management occurs through centralized platforms, the effects of an incident can spread to multiple sites or facilities simultaneously.