Cyberattack hits refrigeration at French blood bank
Refrigeration systems in three rooms warmed from −30°C to +11°C; alarms detected the change and blood products were relocated as a precaution.
A French blood bank’s refrigeration system was hit in a cyberattack that raised temperatures in three cold-storage rooms, officials said, in an incident similar to recent hacks of supermarket freezers across Europe.
Rapid detection prevented contamination
“Thanks to monitoring and alarm systems, the temperature increase was detected quickly and measures were taken promptly, which means there are no compromised samples or blood products,” the blood bank said.
The attack affected three separate rooms where working temperatures climbed from minus 30 degrees Celsius to plus 11 degrees. Cooling systems were managed by an external company, according to the statement.
After the intrusion, technicians restored control of the refrigeration systems and, as a precaution, blood products were transferred to other facilities to safeguard the supply.
The incident follows a string of similar cases in which hackers raised temperatures in refrigerators and freezers at supermarkets in Belgium, Sweden, Ireland, Luxembourg, Estonia, Finland, Germany and the Netherlands. A comparable event also occurred in several large French supermarkets in mid-October.
Authorities have not publicly identified who is responsible for the attacks.
Photo: press material from the event
