The U.S. Army is examining refrigeration malfunctions that disabled food storage equipment at various military commissaries in late August, resulting in the spoilage of large quantities of food. A unit from US Cyber Command and the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division are leading the probe into incidents affecting at least 6 bases, where investigators discovered that temperatures had been raised overnight. In one instance at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, the cooling unit entered a defrost mode that heated the food instead of chilling it.
The Pentagon is treating the malfunctions as a potential case of cyber sabotage targeting food supply chains and is coordinating with French authorities. The investigation follows a similar campaign this month that hit more than 350 commercial refrigeration systems in France, some of which caught fire after temperatures were remotely increased. U.S. officials have established contact with their French counterparts to share data on the origin of the disruptions.