A recent cyberattack on several blood banks tried to raise temperatures at cold-storage facilities to dangerously high levels, but French authorities say it was thwarted before any damage occurred. This incident follows reports of supermarkets across Europe having their refrigeration systems compromised, leading to significant food spoilage and losses.
The French Blood Establishment (EFS) stated that on Monday, monitoring systems detected unusual temperature increases at three plasma storage sites, enabling staff to respond in time and ensuring that “no blood products or samples were compromised.” The attack aimed to set temperatures from the standard minus 30 degrees Celsius to as high as 110 degrees Celsius. Fortunately, plasma bags intended for transfusions were either relocated or secured.
Coolworld, the refrigeration equipment supplier, acknowledged the cybersecurity incident and said the vulnerability stemmed from a third-party component outside its direct control. France’s national cybersecurity agency and the Health Ministry are currently investigating the matter.
This incident mirrors a mid-October cyberattack that impacted supermarkets across France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Dutch supermarket Ahold Delhaize projected that the recent attack could reduce its fourth-quarter sales by up to €250 million and its operating income by as much as €100 million. CEO Franz Muller emphasised the growing threat of cyberattacks to business operations, saying the company had proactively taken some systems offline in response.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
