A new cold war: hackers target fridges across the globe

NPR investigated cyberattacks on the digital devices that control industrial refrigerators, revealing the extent to which operational technology is exposed to damage and disruption.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/6000x4000!/quality/85/format/webp/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F65%2F53%2Fb6db7c9b4e3eb5112551e057ae01%2Fgettyimages-2299339600.jpg' alt='A woman walks past empty fresh-food refrigerators at an Intermarché supermarket in Névez, western France, on Oct. 12, following a cyberattack affecting the French supermarket chains Intermarché and Cooperative U that caused their refrigerators to defrost. Some 150 to 200 Intermarché stores were targeted in the attack on Oct. 12, along with nearly 100 Coopérative U outlets, the retailers said.'/><p>NPR investigated cyberattacks on the digital devices that control industrial refrigerators, revealing the extent to which operational technology is exposed to damage and disruption.</p><p>(Image credit: Fred Tanneau)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-6026676' />