Hackers Raise Temperatures At French Blood Stores

Hackers breached control systems at three cold stores holding vital blood products in France and raised temperatures, the country’s national blood service said.

Technicians intervened before the products were compromised.

The service, EFS, said attackers increased temperature and defrosting thresholds to “very high levels” during the breach overnight on Monday.

Its alarm systems alerted technicians, enabling them to act before the changes damaged the stored products.

The public blood transfusion operator collects, tests, prepares and distributes blood, plasma and platelets to more than 1,900 hospitals across France.

Its work supports more than a million patients each year.

The incident came as retailers across almost a dozen European countries reported refrigeration problems and attacks.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, and no motive is known.

Refrigeration Attacks Across Europe

Supermarket refrigerators and freezers reached temperatures as high as 50C, causing millions of euros in food damage.

Retailers in Italy, Germany, Romania and the U.K. were targeted on Tuesday.

Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden had reported refrigeration-system problems the previous day.

France had already faced a wave of attacks last month in which hackers took control of cooling units at as many as 700 supermarkets.

Italy’s government held emergency talks with intelligence officials on Tuesday.

EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the bloc’s agencies were also holding urgent discussions with national authorities on a collective response.

“These are not isolated incidents, and of course we have to be collectively resilient and prepared for such cyber incidents,” Regnier said.

He declined to identify any potential culprits.

A separate investigation is underway in the U.S., where refrigerators at commissaries on at least six military bases suffered unexplained malfunctions in early August.

The Pentagon is investigating a suspected hack.

Commercial refrigeration systems are among the growing range of devices that can be monitored and controlled remotely.

Internet-connected software can leave those systems exposed to hackers when emerging vulnerabilities are not patched.