Hackers Tamper With Blood Service Cold Rooms in France After Refrigeration Supplier Breach

France's civilian blood service, the French Blood Establishment (EFS), has confirmed that attackers tampered with cold-storage settings after compromising one of its refrigeration suppliers. The EFS said its own systems were not directly targeted. The affected equipment held blood samples and frozen plasma, including plasma intended for transfusion. Reports say temperature settings were changed from -30°C to 110°C, though that does not mean the equipment or its contents actually reached that temperature.

The EFS said its monitoring and alarm systems quickly flagged the anomalies. Depending on the situation, affected equipment was either brought under control or neutralised, and stored products were moved preventively to other facilities. No blood samples or products were compromised. The supplier has not been named, and the EFS notified France's cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, and the Ministry of Health.

The incident follows reports of attacks on refrigeration devices in supermarkets across Europe, where remotely triggered defrost cycles and temperatures as high as 50°C forced retailers to throw away spoiled food. Stores in Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden reported problems first, with cases since confirmed in several other European countries. The attackers have not been identified. The head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, Richard Horne, said he was aware of a couple of impacts in the UK food supply chain.