A cyberattack altered the temperature settings of freezers used by the French Blood Establishment (EFS), forcing an emergency evacuation of stored blood and plasma. The public operator, which supplies blood, plasma and platelets for transfusions, said its monitoring and alarm systems detected the irregularities quickly and staff took steps to protect the products.
The intrusion was detected overnight on Monday. EFS workers regained control of some machines, disconnected others and moved blood to different facilities as a precaution. The organization said it had identified no health impact and no loss of blood products.
EFS said it was not directly targeted: the breach affected temperature-management software provided by its refrigeration contractor. French media have identified the contractor as Coolworld. In a statement on Wednesday, the company said the vulnerability involved a component supplied by an external provider and not directly controlled by Coolworld. It added that only a limited number of units were affected before technicians took steps to contain the incident.
EFS has mobilized teams alongside France’s health ministry and cybersecurity teams, and increased temperature monitoring across its sites. The organization has 10,000 employees and supplies more than 1,900 hospitals, serving over one million patients a year.
The incident comes amid a wave of reported attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems in 11 European countries. The first reported disruptions this week affected stores in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden on Monday; incidents were then reported in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Romania on Tuesday.
The latest incidents follow an attack in October that affected between 400 and 700 supermarkets in France, according to the report. Separately, US authorities have reopened an investigation into refrigeration failures at stores on at least six military bases in August. The Pentagon and the Army Criminal Investigation Division are working with French authorities amid suspicions that the episodes could be linked.
The European Commission has confirmed urgent contacts with national authorities to coordinate a response. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and their motives remain unclear. Investigations into the October incidents in France identified known software vulnerabilities and weak security practices, including freezer control panels exposed to the internet or protected by weak or default passwords.
Sources: elDiario.es.