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Pentagon probing after hackers messed with freezer temperatures at US military's tax-free stores, causing food to spoil
Hackers are suspected of tampering with freezers at six US military commissaries, spoiling food and prompting investigations.
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The Pentagon is facing questions over security after hackers were suspected of tampering with freezer temperatures at six military commissaries - the US Army's tax-free grocery and household goods stores - causing food to spoil.
The incidents took place in August 2026 and have raised concerns about the safety of systems used to store food for military personnel, a US official confirmed to Reuters. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also been put under scrutiny.
According to Reuters, investigators have not publicly identified those responsible or explained how the freezer systems were accessed.
Freezer failures spoil food at US military commissaries
Military commissaries are stores where service members, their families and other eligible customers buy groceries and other goods. In the reported incidents, freezer temperatures were allegedly changed, leaving food spoiled.
Fort Huachuca, an Army base in Arizona, reported a freezer problem on its Facebook page in August. The post said the unit had entered a defrost setting that raised temperatures and ruined the food inside.
The base wrote that its freezer “went into defrost mode where it heated up all the food. Trust us when we say it was ‘spoiled.’”
Reuters reported that at least six commissaries were affected. However, it remains unclear whether investigators have determined who was behind the incidents or confirmed how the systems were tampered with.
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Pentagon investigates suspected hacking incidents
A Department of Defense official told The Daily Beast that a unit of US Cyber Command was responding to the incidents with other agencies and law enforcement partners.
The official said the unit was “working in close coordination with interagency and law enforcement partners” in response to the incidents.
A spokesman for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division also told The Daily Telegraph that US military investigators were working with French authorities to understand the cause of the failures.
Experts suspect the incidents may have exposed weaknesses in internet-connected systems that control refrigeration temperatures. However, investigators have not publicly confirmed how the US freezer systems were compromised.
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French supermarkets faced similar freezer problems
The US incidents came after suspected cyberattacks affected refrigeration systems at supermarkets in France in October. The problems reportedly affected as many as 700 stores, forcing some to remove frozen food from sale.
In some cases, the refrigeration problems reportedly caused fires and activated sprinkler systems. French authorities had not publicly identified suspects, according to the report.
The incidents come amid wider concerns about cyberattacks on essential services. In July, the FBI said hackers had targeted water operators in at least seven US states, adding that “some of that activity degraded water operations.”
In September, hackers also accessed data belonging to 3 million US military members, including Social Security details, according to the report.
Investigations into the freezer failures are ongoing, and officials have not publicly established a link between the US incidents and the attacks in France.
