Under Attack?
Recent cyberattacks targeting refrigeration and freezer systems across Europe have highlighted the real-world consequences of insecure operational environments and highlight why Managed OT Security Services are needed now more than ever.
In this blog we look at the spate of incidents against retailers across the EU and beyond and how Managed OT Security Services can be utilised to reduce the threats.
The growing cyber risk facing Operational Technology
Across industries, OT environments are undergoing rapid digital transformation. Manufacturing plants, utilities, transport networks, logistics providers and food distributors are increasingly connecting operational systems to IT networks, cloud services and remote management platforms.
While this connectivity delivers efficiency and business benefits, it also expands the attack surface available to cybercriminals.
Unlike traditional IT environments, attacks against OT systems can have immediate physical consequences. Operational disruption, production downtime, equipment failure and supply chain impacts can quickly follow a successful compromise.
The European freezer attacks: A wake-up call for industry
The recent headline making attacks affecting refrigeration and freezer infrastructure across Europe was a high profile way to demonstrate how cyber incidents can directly impact physical operations. Incidents affecting supermarkets and cold-storage operations caused disruption to critical refrigeration systems and raised concerns about food spoilage, operational downtime and supply chain resilience. Similar attacks have previously affected hundreds of supermarket locations in France.
These incidents are significant because they illustrate a broader trend. Attackers are no longer focused solely on stealing data. Increasingly, they are targeting operational systems that support essential business functions to cause chaos.
For food retailers, the disruption to refrigeration systems resulted in product losses and supply chain interruptions. For pharmaceutical organisations, temperature control failures can affect the integrity of medicines and vaccines. For healthcare providers, compromised refrigeration systems could potentially impact the storage of blood products and other critical supplies as seen in the recent incident in France.
The lesson is clear: cyber risk and operational risk are now inseparable.
Why traditional security approaches are no longer enough
Many organisations have invested heavily in endpoint protection, email security, identity management and cloud security. While these controls remain essential, they often provide limited visibility into industrial control systems, building management platforms, refrigeration infrastructure and other operational technologies.
The freezer attacks exposed several common security challenges that exist across many OT environments:
- Limited visibility of operational assets
- Internet-exposed management interfaces
- Weak remote access controls
- Legacy and unsupported systems
- Unpatched vulnerabilities
- Poor segmentation between IT and OT networks
- Insufficient monitoring of operational environments
Without visibility into these risks, organisations may not fully understand their exposure until disruption occurs.
What are Managed OT Security Services?
Managed OT Security Services provide organisations with specialist expertise, technology and continuous oversight designed specifically for operational environments.
Rather than relying on periodic assessments alone, managed services deliver ongoing monitoring, governance and risk reduction across industrial systems.
Key capabilities typically include:
OT Asset Discovery and Visibility
You cannot secure what you cannot see.
Asset discovery services help organisations identify operational devices, industrial control systems and connected infrastructure across their environments, providing the visibility needed to understand risk and prioritise security improvements.
OT Threat Detection and Monitoring
Continuous monitoring enables organisations to identify suspicious activity before it develops into operational disruption.
This capability is particularly important in light of recent refrigeration-related attacks, where early detection may help prevent incidents from escalating into service outages, production issues or wider business impacts.
OT Vulnerability Management
Many industrial environments contain legacy technologies that cannot be patched as frequently as traditional IT systems.
Managed OT Security Services help organisations understand vulnerabilities within critical systems, assess risk and develop mitigation strategies while maintaining operational requirements.
Managed OT Access Security
Third-party vendors often require remote access to support and maintain operational systems.
The recent freezer attacks have reinforced the importance of securing these access pathways. Strong authentication, Privileged Access Management (PAM), monitoring and governance controls can significantly reduce the risk associated with remote access into critical environments.
Governance, Compliance and Resilience
Increasing regulatory requirements, including NIS2, are driving greater scrutiny of industrial cybersecurity practices.
Managed OT Security Services support organisations in strengthening governance, improving resilience and demonstrating compliance with evolving regulatory expectations.
Why industrial organisations need Managed OT Security now
The question is no longer whether OT systems will be targeted, but whether organisations have the visibility and resilience needed to respond effectively.
The convergence of IT and OT environments, increasing reliance on third-party connectivity and growing attacker interest in operational systems have fundamentally changed the risk landscape. The freezer attacks seen across Europe are simply the latest example of how cyber incidents can create immediate real-world consequences.
Organisations that rely on manufacturing systems, energy infrastructure, logistics networks, building management platforms, refrigeration systems or other operational technologies must move beyond reactive security approaches and adopt continuous protection strategies.
How Integrity360 helps
Integrity360's Managed OT Security Services are designed to help organisations gain visibility into operational environments, detect threats earlier, manage risk more effectively and strengthen resilience across critical systems.
By combining specialist OT expertise with continuous monitoring, governance and security operations capabilities, organisations can better protect the technologies that keep their operations running.
The recent freezer and refrigeration attacks across Europe should serve as a warning to every organisation operating connected operational technologies.
These incidents were not simply attacks on refrigeration systems. They were examples of how cyber threats can directly impact operations, supply chains and business continuity.
As OT environments become more connected and more critical to organisational success, continuous visibility, monitoring and protection are no longer optional. Managed OT Security Services provide the expertise and operational support required to secure these environments and reduce the risk of disruption before it occurs.
FAQs
What is Operational Technology (OT) security?
Operational Technology (OT) security is the practice of protecting systems that monitor, control, and automate physical processes. These include industrial control systems (ICS), building management systems, manufacturing equipment, refrigeration systems, utilities infrastructure, and other technologies that keep critical operations running.
Unlike traditional IT security, OT security focuses on protecting both digital assets and physical operations.
Why are cybercriminals targeting OT systems?
Attackers increasingly recognise that disrupting operational systems can have an immediate business impact. Compromising OT environments can lead to production downtime, service disruption, supply chain delays, safety risks, and financial losses.
As OT systems become more connected to corporate networks and cloud platforms, they present a growing attack surface for cybercriminals.
What happened in the recent European freezer and refrigeration cyberattacks?
Recent cyberattacks targeting refrigeration and freezer infrastructure across Europe highlighted the potential consequences of operational technology compromise. The incidents affected critical systems responsible for maintaining temperature-controlled environments, raising concerns around operational disruption, product spoilage, and supply chain resilience.
These attacks demonstrate how cyber incidents can move beyond data theft and directly affect physical operations.
Why are freezer and cold-chain attacks relevant to other industries?
While the attacks targeted refrigeration systems, the underlying risks apply to any organisation that relies on connected operational technologies.
The same security challenges often exist across:
- Manufacturing plants
- Energy and utilities providers
- Healthcare organisations
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Logistics and transport networks
- Warehousing and distribution centres
Any disruption to operational systems can create significant business continuity challenges.
What are Managed OT Security Services?
Managed OT Security Services provide specialist expertise, continuous monitoring, threat detection, governance, and security management for operational environments.
Services typically include:
- OT asset discovery
- Threat detection and monitoring
- Vulnerability management
- Remote access security
- Governance and compliance support
- Incident response planning
- OT risk assessments
The goal is to reduce cyber risk while maintaining operational reliability and availability.
Why is OT security different from traditional IT security?
Traditional IT security focuses on protecting data, applications, and user devices. OT security must also account for operational continuity, safety requirements, legacy systems, and physical processes.
Many OT systems cannot be patched or updated as frequently as IT assets, requiring specialised security strategies designed to minimise operational disruption.
What are the biggest OT cybersecurity risks facing organisations today?
Common OT security risks include:
- Unauthorised remote access
- Legacy and unsupported systems
- Weak network segmentation
- Ransomware attacks
- Third-party supplier compromise
- Lack of visibility into connected assets
- Vulnerable industrial control systems
As organisations adopt more connected technologies, managing these risks becomes increasingly important.
How can organisations improve visibility across OT environments?
The first step is understanding what assets exist within the environment.
OT asset discovery tools can identify connected industrial devices, control systems, sensors, and supporting infrastructure. This visibility allows security teams to assess risk, prioritise remediation efforts, and detect suspicious activity more effectively.
Why is third-party access a major OT security concern?
Many industrial and operational systems are maintained by external vendors who require remote access for support and maintenance.
Without appropriate controls, these connections can create security risks. Organisations should implement multi-factor authentication (MFA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), access monitoring, and formal governance processes to reduce third-party risk.
How does continuous OT monitoring help reduce cyber risk?
Continuous monitoring helps organisations identify suspicious activity, unauthorised access attempts, and emerging threats before they result in operational disruption.
In environments where uptime is critical, early detection can significantly reduce the impact of cyber incidents.
How do Managed OT Security Services support compliance requirements?
Many organisations are facing increasing regulatory pressure through frameworks and regulations such as NIS2, IEC 62443, and sector-specific cyber resilience requirements.
Managed OT Security Services can help organisations improve governance, demonstrate due diligence, identify security gaps, and strengthen overall cyber resilience.
What should organisations do first to improve OT security?
Organisations should begin by:
- Identifying and inventorying OT assets.
- Assessing OT cybersecurity risks.
- Reviewing remote access arrangements.
- Improving network segmentation between IT and OT environments.
- Implementing continuous monitoring and threat detection.
- Developing an OT incident response plan.
A structured OT security programme provides the foundation for long-term resilience.
How can Integrity360 help secure OT environments?
Integrity360's Managed OT Security Services help organisations gain visibility into operational environments, identify vulnerabilities, detect threats, strengthen governance, and improve resilience across critical systems.
By combining OT expertise with continuous monitoring and security operations capabilities, organisations can better protect the technologies that support essential business operations.
