Cyberattack thwarted against France’s blood reserves. Hackers altered the temperatures of the cold-storage rooms

A cyberattack targeting the refrigeration systems of the Établissement Français du Sang (EFS), the institution that manages France’s blood reserves, was thwarted during the night of November 1–2, before the stocks intended for transfusions could be compromised.

The attackers remotely accessed equipment managed by supplier Coolworld and changed the temperatures of the refrigerated rooms from -30 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius. Such a change would have made it impossible to safely preserve the bags of blood and plasma needed annually for approximately one million patients.

The incident was detected by an on-call technician, who quickly identified the abnormal readings on the monitoring screens and activated the emergency protocol. The biological products from the affected areas were moved to secure rooms. EFS later announced that no material or biological losses had been recorded.

So far, the authorities have not disclosed who was behind the attack or how many facilities were targeted. The incident once again highlights the risks facing internet-connected critical infrastructure. Specialists warn that such vulnerabilities can directly affect public health, particularly as attacks on refrigeration systems in European supermarket chains have increased.