Hackers target French blood bank refrigeration systems; alarm systems avert damage

Paris: A cyberattack targeting refrigeration systems at three blood storage facilities in France attempted to push temperatures beyond safe limits, but monitoring systems detected the disruption in time, preventing damage to blood products and samples, authorities said.

The French Blood Establishment (EFS) said the incident occurred on Monday at three of its plasma cold-storage sites. In a statement issued late Tuesday, it said “temperature and defrosting thresholds were raised to extremely high levels”.

“No health consequences have been identified, and no blood products were lost,” it said.

The attack targeted a supplier of refrigeration equipment used at the three facilities. The affected storage units contained bags of plasma meant for transfusions as well as plasma intended for the manufacture of medicines.

According to the EFS, the stored products were either moved to other facilities or secured to prevent any potential damage.

“Monitoring and alarm systems quickly detected the anomalies, allowing staff to take action to ensure that no blood products or samples were compromised,” it said.

The blood establishment said its collection and distribution activities had continued without interruption, ensuring that hospitals and other healthcare facilities could maintain services for patients.

France's national cybersecurity agency and the Health Ministry have launched investigations into the incident.

The attack comes amid reports of refrigeration systems being remotely compromised at supermarkets in several European countries this week. The incidents caused refrigerators and freezers to warm up, resulting in large quantities of spoiled food and losses running into millions of euros.