Former FBI special agent Nicole Parker warned that the next attack on Americans’ sense of security could come through the grocery aisle, as suspected hackers turn up supermarket freezer temperatures in Europe and fuel fears that everyday necessities could become weapons of "psychological warfare."
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necessities → warn → warfare
Parker warned that cyberattacks targeting the systems people rely on for food and other essentials could also strike the United States.
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people → warn → States
"Every human being has to eat," Parker told Fox News Digital.
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Parker → have → Digital
Her warning comes as the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Cyber Field Office works with the Defense Commissary Agency and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service to determine what caused refrigeration failures at military commissaries in August, an Army CID spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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spokesperson → come → Digital
Investigators are also working with French law enforcement as they examine whether the U.S. failures could be connected to refrigeration outages in Europe.
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failures → work → Europe
A cyberattack has not been established as the cause of the military commissary malfunctions.
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cyberattack → establish → malfunctions
At least six commissaries, grocery stores on military bases serving military personnel, experienced refrigeration problems in late August.
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commissaries → serve → August
"ALL frozen food has spoiled," Fort Huachuca in Arizona said in an Aug. 26 Facebook post.
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Huachuca → spoil → post
Other affected locations included F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island, Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi, and Travis Air Force Base and Fort Irwin in California.
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locations → affect → California
Fort Irwin limited commissary sales to dry goods following its malfunction.
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Irwin → limit → malfunction
In at least one case, refrigeration units were set to higher temperatures overnight rather than simply shutting off, Reuters reported.
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Reuters → set → temperatures
Separately, refrigeration systems at European supermarkets were disrupted Monday, forcing some retailers to discard food.
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systems → disrupt → food
Reuters reported that affected businesses included stores in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg, with temperatures in some systems reaching 122 degrees Fahrenheit.
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temperatures → report → Fahrenheit
Parker said the incidents underscore a threat she has long discussed with former FBI colleagues: cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.
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she → say → infrastructure
"What we're seeing right now is in Europe and other places, but it can very well happen on our soil," she said.
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she → see → soil
She described the danger as "asymmetrical warfare," in which an attacker can disrupt daily life without firing a missile or sending troops onto a battlefield.
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attacker → describe → battlefield
"No one in law enforcement underestimates the harm that could be caused by a cyberattack against our country or against our allies," Parker said.
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Parker → underestimate → allies
The identity of those behind the European incidents remained unknown, Reuters reported Wednesday.
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Reuters → remain → incidents
Parker also cautioned against drawing conclusions about who was responsible.
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who → caution → conclusions
"Again, we don't know who did this," she said.
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she → know → this
For Parker, the potential damage goes beyond spoiled food.
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damage → go → food
Targeting a basic necessity can also shake the public’s sense of security.
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Targeting → target → security
"This asymmetrical warfare has a very strong psychological impact, but we're Americans.
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we → have → impact
We will not falter ever," she said.
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she → falter → ?
Parker said the response must extend beyond investigators tracking down hackers.
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investigators → say → hackers
Elected officials and local leaders responsible for keeping communities running need training and plans to help residents if essential services are disrupted.
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services → keep → residents
"We're in a place now where it's not just enough for law enforcement to be prepared," she said.
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she → prepare → place
City managers, mayors and city council members must understand potential threats and how they would take care of their communities, Parker said.
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Parker → understand → communities
She stressed the need to identify vulnerabilities and stop attacks before they happen.
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they → stress → attacks
Parker urged families to keep basic supplies on hand and have a plan in case a cyberattack disrupts essential services.
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cyberattack → urge → services
"I think if you are prepared, you do not have to fear," Parker said.
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Parker → think → ?
She encouraged Americans to keep food, water and needed medicine on hand, gather important documents in a designated location and talk through how family members would communicate during a power outage.
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members → encourage → outage
She also suggested having a battery-operated AM radio.
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She → suggest → radio
"I'm not saying that, you know, you need to go buy everything off of the shelves," Parker said.
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Parker → say → shelves
Instead, she urged people to think about practical preparations as they go about their routines.
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they → urge → routines
For Parker, who lives in Florida, the approach is familiar.
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approach → live → Florida
"We're used to hurricanes," she said.
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she → use → hurricanes
Fox News Digital's Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
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Chu → contribute → report
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