Are Freezers Being Hacked? Europe and the U.S. Military Are Investigating.

A spate of appliance malfunctions at U.S.military facilities over the summer seemed like just a nuisance: Refrigeration systems had failed at commissaries, spoiling food and temporarily limiting supplies.Then, last month, freezers malfunctioned at hundreds of grocery stores in France in what officials called a cyberattack.

On Monday, retailers in at least seven more European countries reported problems with refrigeration units.Though it was not clear what caused the disruptions, experts said they had the hallmarks of cyberattacks.On Monday, the U.S.

Army said that its cyber investigators were looking into the issue.Here’s what to know:What happened at the U.S.military sites?On Aug.

26, freezers at a market in Fort Huachuca, an Army base in Arizona, suddenly went into defrost mode, according to a Facebook post from the base.All the food in those freezers was spoiled.The same day, Naval Station Newport in Newport, R.I., reported “refrigeration system issues at the commissary.”Army officials are now investigating whether those malfunctions and others at U.S.

military facilities in August were part of a wider cyberattack, Reuters reported last week.Asked on Monday about the Reuters report, the Pentagon acknowledged “speculation regarding a potential cyber incident” and said that its inspector general’s office was investigating the matter.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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