--- title: "Pentagon investigates series of commissary freezer failures as possible cyberattack" description: "The Pentagon is investigating freezer failures at military commissaries amid concerns that hackers may have targeted refrigeration systems." date: "2026-10-29" modified: "2026-10-29" authors: - name: "Austin Campbell" job_title: "Contributing reporter" link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/austin-campbell.md" url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/military-commissary-cyberattack-pentagon-investigation/" categories: - "Around the World" - "News" - "United States" --- # Pentagon investigates series of commissary freezer failures as possible cyberattack ![U.S. NAVAL BASE GUAM (May 30, 2023) – The Orote Commissary is OPEN, and a HUGE thanks to the Sailors of Maritime Expeditionary Security Group ONE and the Marines of 3rd Amphibious Assault Battalion from Camp Pendleton, Calif., who volunteered to help restock shelves, helping ensure your family can get the items they need. Thank you for spending your time helping our base community. A Combined Joint Task Force led by U.S. Army Pacific and Task Force West are the DoD representatives supporting FEMA and the governments of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands as we continue recovery efforts in the wake of Typhoon Mawar. Commander Task Force West Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, and all military installation commanding officers in Guam are diligently working to restore steady state to the bases, and dedicate resources to all FEMA mission assignments. Typhoon Mawar moved through the area as a Category 4 storm on May 24, bringing hurricane-force winds, heavy rain and high seas marking the strongest storm to affect the island since Typhoon Pongsona in 2002. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Brandenburg)]() *The Pentagon is investigating mysterious freezer failures at military commissaries amid concerns that hackers may have targeted refrigeration systems. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Brandenburg* The Pentagon's criminal investigative service is leading a joint investigation into mysterious refrigeration failures at military commissaries across the country amid concerns that the incidents may have been caused by cyberattacks, a Defense Department official confirmed Thursday. “We are aware of speculation regarding a potential cyber incident,” the official said. “The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), the criminal investigative arm of the \[Department of Defense\] Office of Inspector General, is leading a joint investigation. For security reasons, we do not comment on ongoing law enforcement investigations.” The failures affected at least six military commissaries in August, with some installations temporarily unable to sell refrigerated or frozen food. [Military Times previously documented outages]() at seven [Army](), [Navy]() and [Air Force]() installations across the country. The investigation comes after a confirmed cyberattack disrupted refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets across France earlier this month. [CNN reported that hackers remotely activated defrost cycles](), spoiling food and, in some cases, causing fires. The disruption resembles the incident at Fort Huachuca, where every commissary freezer entered defrost mode overnight, [according to the installation's Facebook page](). Army Criminal Investigation Division spokesman Thomas Hamilton confirmed to Task & Purpose that Army CID is working with the Defense Commissary Agency and DCIS to determine what happened at the U.S. commissaries. “Army CID is also working with DCIS and French law enforcement in understanding the refrigeration outages in Europe,” Hamilton said. The department separately confirmed that Defense Cyber Defense Command is coordinating with law enforcement and other federal agencies. [Reuters reported Thursday](), citing four officials familiar with the matter, that investigators are treating the incidents as suspected cyberattacks, although the Pentagon has not publicly confirmed that hackers were responsible. Wes Bryant, a former Air Force special operations member who previously served as chief of civilian harm assessments at the Pentagon’s Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, said service members and their families depend on commissaries for affordable groceries, and disruptions could force them to shop elsewhere at higher prices. Bryant said the military's dependence on fresh food extends beyond domestic installations. Even overseas, he said, service members rely on regular food supplies rather than routinely eating Meals, Ready-to-Eat, or MREs. “If you take away service members' ability to eat in the U.S., that effectively ends or deeply impacts our operations, full stop,” Bryant said. “This is our Achilles' heel in some regards. A lot of troops won't work with no access to food.” ## Author Austin Campbell is an investigative reporter covering the U.S. military, national security, foreign policy and federal accountability. His reporting has uncovered previously unreleased military death data, documented nearly $1.8 million in questionable Air Force procurement spending, and exposed institutional failures across the military and federal government. His investigations have been cited multiple times by members of Congress and prompted congressional oversight of federal agencies. His work has appeared in The Intercept, Military.com, and Responsible Statecraft. A former U.S. Air Force aircraft armament specialist, Campbell holds a master's degree from UNC Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media. ## More - [Military commissaries could be privatized under Pentagon plan]() - [Navy investigating power failure aboard destroyer in South China Sea]() - [Pentagon to probe possible war crimes committed by troops downrange]() - [Now Even The Pentagon Is Investigating Retired Lt Gen Michael Flynn]() - [Can US troops face life in a Kuwaiti prison for selling pork? An investigation]() - [‘A failure of command’ — How one soldier’s sexual harassment case forced a reckoning among leaders in the Army Reserve]() - [Air Force pilot explains what it takes to be the top A-10 gun in the West]() - [Army leaders say China can learn an important lesson from Russia in Ukraine: Don’t ‘piss everybody off’]()