A practical checklist for securing cold storage controllers

Cold storage is where a cyber problem quickly becomes a food safety problem. A controller that is switched off, or set a few degrees too warm, can spoil stock worth far more than any ransom demand.

This checklist was put together by chapter members after a near miss at a member's facility, where an internet-exposed refrigeration panel was found during a routine scan.

The checklist

• Find every refrigeration and building-management panel and note who maintains it
• Remove direct internet exposure and route access through one managed gateway
• Change default passwords and keep the new ones in a shared, controlled vault
• Alert on temperature set-point changes, not just on temperature readings
• Rehearse running on manual control for a full shift

If you try the checklist at your site, tell us how it went at the next chapter meetup — the chapter plans to publish an improved version next year.