French blood banks thwarted cyberattack that targeted plasma storage
Hackers attempted to raise freezer temperatures to 230 degrees Fahrenheit, but monitoring systems detected the error before any products were lost.
By Robert Marshall ·
French authorities confirmed on Tuesday that a cyberattack targeting blood storage facilities was successfully blocked. The incident occurred at three cold-storage sites managed by the French Blood Establishment, or EFS. Staff members detected abnormal temperature readings on Monday. The attack had attempted to override standard safety settings.
Le Canard Enchaîné, a French weekly newspaper, first reported the breach. The publication stated that the system tried to reset temperatures from minus 22 Fahrenheit to as high as 230 Fahrenheit. Normal operating temperatures for these plasma stores sit at minus 30 Celsius. The EFS released a statement late Tuesday confirming that temperature and defrosting thresholds were raised to extreme levels. Their monitoring systems caught the change quickly. This allowed staff to intervene before the heat affected the inventory.
The EFS said no blood products or samples were compromised. The affected items included bags of plasma intended for patient transfusions and plasma used in medicine manufacturing. The organization stated that all affected stock was either transferred or secured. No health consequences were identified for patients. Blood collection and distribution operations have continued without interruption. Hospitals and other healthcare providers are still receiving their supplies.
Coolworld, the supplier for the refrigeration equipment, acknowledged the incident in a statement. The company said the vulnerability involved a component from a third-party supplier. This part was outside Coolworld's direct control. The firm noted that only a limited number of units were affected. It is currently taking appropriate measures to address the issue.
France's national cybersecurity agency and the Health Ministry are investigating the event. The ministry has not identified the group behind the attack. This event follows a series of hacks in mid-October that targeted supermarkets in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Those earlier attacks caused refrigerators and freezers to warm up remotely. This resulted in millions of dollars in spoiled food across multiple countries.
Dutch supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize reported the financial impact of the October incident on Wednesday. CEO Franz Muller said the cyberattack is expected to reduce fourth-quarter sales by up to 281 million dollars. Operating income for the period will drop by more than 112 million dollars. Muller noted that most disruption was contained within two weeks. The company proactively took some systems offline, including websites and apps for its brands in Europe and the United States, citing malicious actions by others.
