Attackers tampered with cold-storage settings used by France’s civilian blood service after compromising a refrigeration supplier, the organization said. The French Blood Establishment (EFS) confirmed the incident on Tuesday, saying its own systems had not been directly targeted. Safeguards prevented any loss of blood products. The affected equipment stored blood samples and frozen plasma, including plasma intended for transfusion. “The EFS’ monitoring and alarm systems enabled the rapid identification of these anomalies and the implementation of necessary measures to ensure that no blood samples or products were compromised,” it said. “Thus, depending on the circumstances, as soon as the incident occurred, the affected equipment was either brought under control without impacting the products and samples, or neutralized; the products stored in these cold rooms were preventively transferred to other facilities.” The EFS did not name the supplier publicly. According to reports, attackers changed cold-room temperature settings from -30°C to 110°C. That does not mean the equipment or its contents reached the higher temperature. The organization added that it notified the country’s cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, and the Ministry of Health. News about cyberattacks targeting refrigeration devices across Europe emerged on Monday morning after retailers arrived to work, only to find puddles on the floor after cyber criminals activated defrost modes. Reports of the supermarket attacks describe remotely activated defrost cycles and temperatures as high as 50°C, forcing retailers to discard spoiled food. The attackers have not been identified. More retailers have reported disruption since the initial disclosures on Monday. Stores across Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, and Sweden were the first to report issues, although cases from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Romania, and the Netherlands have since been confirmed. Richard Horne, chief executive of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Wednesday that he was aware of “a couple of impacts” in the UK’s own food supply chain. No affected UK businesses have publicly identified themselves, although the British Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) told the BBC that some of its more than 300 members had become “collateral” in the attacks, with two reporting that their fridges had begun defrosting. The latest wave of cold-store attacks comes a month after the first, which affected French supermarket chains Carrefour, Coopérative U, Intermarché, Monoprix, and others. Both supermarket waves involved remote interference with refrigeration controls, causing stock losses. Whether the attack affecting EFS used the same access route remains unclear. Some affected chains identified Danfoss controllers in their systems; others said they did not use the company’s equipment. CERT-FR published an advisory at the time of the attacks urging organizations to remediate vulnerabilities in Danfoss AK-SM and AK-SC controllers. The attacks in France followed reports of compromises at US military commissaries, which also led to food wastage in August. ®
