Refrigeration Systems Hit Across Europe as Attackers Alter Blood Storage Temperatures in France

Temperature controls were altered at three sites run by the Établissement Français du Sang (EFS), France's national blood service, this week. The change was part of a wave of cyberattacks on refrigeration systems across Europe. EFS said temperature and defrosting thresholds in its cold storage rooms were raised to very high levels. It reported no health impacts and no losses of blood products.

EFS said its monitoring and alarm systems quickly flagged the anomalies. Affected equipment was either brought back under control or neutralised, and products stored in the affected rooms were moved to other facilities as a precaution. The organisation says it was not targeted directly. Like many other affected retailers, it describes the attack as reaching it through a third-party provider of refrigeration equipment. A spokesperson could not name the manufacturer or model of the control systems involved.

This is the first reported case in France in the second wave of such attacks, and the first to affect a healthcare organisation. Businesses in at least 11 countries have reportedly been affected: Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden and the United Kingdom. An earlier wave in France in October saw fridges remotely defrosted and food stock spoil. No group has claimed responsibility, and it is unclear whether the same perpetrators are involved. UK authorities have not attributed the incidents, and Belgium's cybersecurity agency said it may never be possible to identify who was behind them.