Are hackers targeting America’s food supply?

( NewsNation ) — A series of cyberattacks on grocery stores out of Europe have raised concerns about cyber threats stateside as the U.S. government warns businesses of potential attacks targeting industrial refrigeration and cold-chain monitoring systems.

Brett Leatherman, head of the FBI Cyber Division, spoke in an advisory warning Thursday , urging organizations to take mitigation steps against potential malicious cyber actors immediately.

“These systems protect food and medicine across health care, food and agriculture, and other critical sectors here in the United States as well. Attackers are getting in through controllers that are unpatched, reachable from the internet, or still using the default passwords listed in the manufacturer’s manual,” said Leatherman.

In a joint warning from the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Health and Human Services (HHS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), experts urged organizations to eliminate public internet exposure, isolate operational technology and enforce credential security to mitigate potential attacks.

Former FBI Special Agent Nicole Parker spoke with Fox News to warn Americans further, interpreting the cyberattacks as a form of “asymmetrical warfare,” where opponents use unconventional tactics to expose the vulnerabilities of a stronger opponent.

“This asymmetrical warfare has a very strong psychological impact, but we’re Americans. We will not falter ever,” she said.

Parker also urged citizens to keep food, water, medication and other supplies on hand in case of a wider cyberattack

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Experts dubbed the most recent month “ Black October ” in reference to the intense wave of software vulnerabilities and high-profile cyber incidents driven by AI. A senior director of product management at Figma wrote in an Oct. 22 X post following a surge in PHP attacks

“In the last 2 days there have been several dozen cyber attacks which, in isolation, would each have been the worst to happen in an entire calendar year.”

In late August, at least six American military bases suffered freezer malfunctions, and U.S. cyber investigators partnered with French law enforcement to research the potential hacks.

In Europe, over 350 supermarkets and several French blood banks reported temperature rises in cold equipment up to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, forcing suppliers to throw out shelves of spoiled food, losses which may cost tens of millions of euros. While the French Blood Establishment said its surveillance systems were triggered and taken offline, no blood products were lost during the attack, with the samples promptly transported to other facilities.

The hacks came in two waves, one that hit in the middle of October and another impacting grocery stores just days ago.

A top cybersecurity official from Romania characterized the threat as “semi-amateurish,” speaking to the AFP news agency. He added, “We do not suspect, under any circumstances, that it is a state actor.”