On a Wednesday in early November, French authorities revealed that the country's blood establishment had been drawn into a wave of cyberattacks that had already struck supermarkets across Europe. Someone reached into the refrigeration systems guarding plasma and sample storage, trying to drive temperatures to levels that would ruin what those cold rooms exist to protect. It is the quiet modern version of an old fear, that the things society depends on can be turned against it by a hand we cannot see. For now the defenses held, and what remains unanswered is who was behind it and how a supplier
Cyberattack Targeted French Blood Plasma Refrigeration, Raising Temperatures Toward Boiling Before Being Stopped
The target was plasma, and the attempt was to destroy it by heat
Mark
Why does this one stand out from the supermarket attacks?
Mimi
Because the target was plasma, not frozen food. The EFS says the attack tried to push temperatures to extremely high levels at three storage sites. The earlier attacks cost money; this one could have affected medical supply.
Mark
But nothing was lost?
Mimi
That's what the EFS says: no blood products lost, no health consequences identified, distribution uninterrupted. Alarms caught the anomalies and staff moved or secured the plasma.
Luke
Worth noting that's the agency's own account. The reporting doesn't include an independent check.
Mark
And the 110 degree figure?
Luke
That comes from Le Canard Enchaine, not from the EFS. The agency only said extremely high temperatures. I'd treat the number as one outlet's reporting.
Mark
Who did it?
Luke
Unknown. The cybersecurity agency and Health Ministry are investigating and haven't said who might be responsible.
Mimi
Coolworld says the weakness came from a third-party supplier's component, outside its direct control. That points to the supply chain.
Luke
Which is Coolworld's claim. Whether the supermarket and blood bank attacks are linked is not established in what's been reported, though they resemble each other.
Der Puls
- A coordinated intrusion tried to push cold storage at three French plasma and sample sites toward extreme heat.
- Alarms and monitoring caught the anomalies fast enough for staff to move or secure the plasma.
- Remote access to the affected refrigerators has been cut off while investigators work to trace the entry point.
- The Health Ministry reports no lost blood products and no health effects, and distribution continued without interruption.
- Coolworld blames a third-party component it does not directly control, and no suspect has been named.
- The same pattern hit supermarket refrigeration weeks earlier, and Ahold Delhaize now expects a sales hit of up to €250 million.
On a Wednesday in early November, French authorities revealed that the country's blood establishment had been drawn into a wave of cyberattacks that had already struck supermarkets across Europe. Someone reached into the refrigeration systems guarding plasma and sample storage, trying to drive temperatures to levels that would ruin what those cold rooms exist to protect. It is the quiet modern version of an old fear, that the things society depends on can be turned against it by a hand we cannot see. For now the defenses held, and what remains unanswered is who was behind it and how a supplier's component became the door.
On Wednesday, French authorities disclosed that blood banks in France had been caught in a series of cyberattacks on refrigeration systems that struck several European countries on Sunday and Monday. The target was plasma, and the aim was to destroy it by driving cold storage far beyond safe limits.
The French Blood Establishment, known as the EFS, described an intrusion aimed at a refrigeration service provider that reached control systems at three storage sites. The attempt was stopped. Plasma was moved or secured, and monitoring and alarm systems caught the anomalies quickly enough for staff to act. No blood products were lost, no health consequences have been found, and distribution continued.
Le Canard Enchaine first reported that the systems had been set to climb to 110 degrees Celsius, against the minus 30 at which plasma should be held. The EFS spoke only of extremely high temperatures. France's cybersecurity agency and the Health Ministry are investigating and have not said who is responsible. Remote access to the affected units has been disabled.
The equipment supplier, Coolworld, places the weakness in a component from a third-party supplier outside its direct control. The episode echoes a supermarket campaign weeks earlier, which has already cost retailers heavily. Ahold Delhaize expects the October attack to cut quarterly sales by as much as €250 million, though its CEO says most disruption was contained within two weeks.
What remains open is who is behind the attacks and how an outside component became a route into systems protecting blood plasma.
On Wednesday, French authorities disclosed that blood banks in France had been caught up in a wave of cyberattacks on refrigeration systems that struck several European countries on Sunday and Monday. The target was plasma, and the attempt was to destroy it by driving the temperature in cold storage far past the boiling point.
The French Blood Establishment, known as the EFS, described a "cybersecurity incident" aimed at a refrigeration service provider. The intrusion reached control systems at three cold storage sites that hold plasma and blood samples. According to the EFS, the attack tried to push temperatures to extremely high levels, but it was stopped before any damage was done. The plasma in the affected refrigerators was either moved or secured.
The EFS said monitoring and alarm systems quickly picked up the anomalies, which let staff step in and make sure no blood products or samples were compromised. In its statement, the agency said no health consequences have been identified and no blood products were lost. It added that distribution operations were not interrupted.
The French weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported the attack first, on Wednesday. The paper said the systems had been programmed to climb to 110 degrees Celsius (230 Fahrenheit), when plasma should be held at minus 30 Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit). That figure comes from the newspaper's reporting; the EFS statement spoke only of extremely high temperatures.
France's cybersecurity agency and the Health Ministry said an investigation is underway. Neither indicated who might be responsible. The Health Ministry said remote access to the affected refrigerators has been disabled, and it credited the monitoring and alarm systems with protecting the blood supply.
The company that supplies the refrigeration equipment, Coolworld, pointed elsewhere for the cause. It said the vulnerability lay in a component from a "third-party supplier and was outside Coolworld's direct control."
The blood bank incident sits within a broader pattern. On Sunday and Monday, refrigeration systems at supermarkets in several European countries, France and Germany among them, were also attacked, and large quantities of frozen food were destroyed. It recalled a similar attack about three weeks earlier that hit refrigeration systems at dozens of French supermarkets. The attacks have cost supermarkets millions of euros in wasted food.
The financial toll is becoming visible. On Wednesday, the Dutch supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize said it expects the October cyberattack to reduce its quarterly sales by as much as €250 million ($281 million). CEO Franz Muller said most of the disruption was contained within two weeks, but that work continues to fully restore normal operations.
What remains open is who is behind the attacks, and how a component from an outside supplier came to be a way into systems protecting blood plasma. The investigation in France is ongoing, and so far no suspect has been named.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
No health consequences have been identified, and no blood products were lost.— French Blood Establishment (EFS)
The vulnerability was related to a component from a third-party supplier and was outside Coolworld's direct control.— Coolworld, refrigeration equipment supplier
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