Cyberattack on French plasma stores is enough to make your blood boil
Attackers reportedly set cold-room controls to 110°C, but safeguards prevented stock losses
A recent cyberattack on French blood stores has exposed a vulnerability in the country's cold-storage systems. The incident occurred after attackers compromised a refrigeration supplier, manipulating cold-storage settings in the French Blood Establishment's (EFS) blood products facility. Despite the attackers changing the temperature from -30°C to 110°C, the organization's safeguards prevented any loss of blood products.
The affected equipment, which stored blood samples and frozen plasma, was either brought under control or neutralized, with products transferred to other facilities if needed. The EFS promptly informed the French cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, and the Ministry of Health about the incident. This attack follows a similar pattern of attacks targeting refrigeration devices across Europe, causing significant disruptions in supermarkets in countries like Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Romania, and the Netherlands.
The French attacks were reported to have used remote interference with refrigeration controls, leading to stock losses, and some affected chains identified Danfoss controllers in their systems.
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