Hackers Spoiled Tens of Millions in Supermarket Food. iMatrix Freezer Alarms Text Staff Within Minutes.

Hackers broke into refrigeration controllers at hundreds of supermarkets in France and Germany and turned freezers into ovens. iMatrix Systems, Inc. is urging grocers, restaurants and food warehouses to add a second temperature alarm that does not depend on the controller. iMatrix NEO wireless sensors sit inside each cooler and freezer, report through the iMatrix Micro Gateway, and send an email or text message within minutes when a temperature leaves its safe range.

What happened

About 700 of France's 10,000 supermarkets were hit on the night of October 11–12, French Finance Minister Roland Lescure told Parliament, the Associated Press reported. Attackers reached controllers exposed on the internet. They forced defrost cycles and raised setpoints as high as 50°C (122°F). Temperatures rose for six hours before employees discovered the problem, SecurityWeek reported. Food losses ran to tens of millions, Facilities Dive reported.

Germany followed. On November 2, refrigeration at an Edeka supermarket in Reisbach, Bavaria, was heated to about 50°C and the food was thrown away, heise reported. The same night, attacks hit stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Ireland and other countries. Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) issued a warning and told operators to take refrigeration controllers off the internet.

Why the controller's alarm is not enough

In most stores, the controller that runs the refrigeration also sounds the temperature alarm. Once attackers control it, the alarm can stay silent until staff open the doors in the morning. Disconnecting the controller, as the BSI advises, also cuts the remote alerts many stores rely on at night.

How iMatrix monitors refrigeration independently

• Separate sensors, separate path. NEO sensors measure the real temperature inside each case, cold room or freezer. They are not wired to the refrigeration controller and cannot change its settings.
• Alarms by email and SMS. Readings go over Bluetooth to the Micro Gateway and over Wi-Fi to iMatrix Cloud every 10 minutes by default. A text goes out when a unit drifts out of range, including at 2 a.m.
• Gateway-offline alerts. If the gateway loses power or Wi-Fi, iMatrix Cloud says so, and sensors keep logging onboard until it reconnects.
• Reports for every unit. One dashboard covers every cooler and freezer, with HACCP-ready temperature logs and exports for inspectors and insurers.
• NIST-traceable calibration. Each NIST model ships with a multi-point calibration certificate stored in iMatrix Cloud.

"Last month's attacks showed that a refrigeration system can't be its own watchdog. Put a sensor in every case that does one thing: read the temperature and tell you when it's wrong. Then you can lock the controller down the way the BSI asks, and the store manager still gets the text at 2 a.m." — Greg Phillips, CEO and Founder, iMatrix Systems

Five steps to protect refrigeration from hackers

Drawn from BSI and French CERT-FR guidance, plus independent monitoring:

1. Take refrigeration controllers off the public internet. Use a VPN for remote access.
2. Change default passwords and install the vendor's firmware updates.
3. Check defrost schedules and setpoints for changes you did not make.
4. Add an independent temperature alarm in every cooler and freezer.
5. Keep calibrated temperature records to document losses for insurers and inspectors.

Availability and pricing

iMatrix sensors and gateways are available now at imatrixsys.com, with iMatrix Cloud and the mobile app included and no monthly fee:

• NEO-1DP NIST probe sensor with display for freezers and display cases, $109.99: https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/products/neo-1dp-nist/ Add to Cart →
• NEO-1P NIST probe sensor for freezers, $109.00: https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/products/neo-1p-nist/ Add to Cart →
• NEO-1D NIST sensor with display for coolers and display cases, $119.00: https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/products/neo-1d-nist/ Add to Cart →
• NEO-1 NIST temperature and humidity sensor, $84.99: https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/products/neo-1-nist/ Add to Cart →
• Micro Gateway, up to about 50 sensors per gateway, $59.99: https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/products/micro-gateway/ Add to Cart →
• How NIST-traceable calibration works: https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/nist/

Full pricing is at https://imatrixsys.com/environmental/pricing/. For supermarket chains and multi-site rollouts, contact iMatrix at support@imatrixsys.com or +1 (844) 545-1007.