Close-up of the hands of a nurse from the French Blood Establishment holding blood collection tubes intended to receive blood samples during a plasma donation session at the Maison du Don in Saint Brieuc Côtes d’Armor Brittany France on July 28, 2026.
Hélène Rigny | Afp | Getty Images
French blood banks were hit on Monday by the recent wave of cybersecurity attacks against European refrigeration systems, the French Blood Establishment confirmed on Wednesday.
The organization said that while it was not the direct target of the attack, cold storage units operated by external providers containing EFS blood products were compromised at three of its sites as hackers raised the temperature.
“Specifically, the temperature and defrost thresholds were set at excessively high levels,” EFS said in a statement translated from French to English by CNBC.
“These cold storage units, located on the EFS preparation and distribution sites, allow blood products to be stored before their transport to health establishments, as well as samples intended for the EFS biobanks.
They also stored frozen plasma used for transfusions and drug manufacturing.
The EFS specifies that its monitoring systems were triggered quickly and, depending on the situation, the equipment concerned was either controlled without impact on the products or samples, or taken offline. No samples or blood products were lost in the attack, with samples quickly transferred to other facilities, the EFS added.
The EFS is now coordinating with the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) and the Ministry of Health and is strengthening the surveillance of its equipment.
Hundreds of supermarkets in France and other European countries, including Belgium, Sweden and Finland, have had their refrigerators remotely hacked and their temperatures raised, potentially resulting in millions of euros worth of spoiled food.
“Several regional facilities of the French Blood Establishment (EFS) were affected by a cybersecurity incident having impacted certain cold room monitoring and control systems,”
The situation is now under control and is being closely monitored, the French Health Ministry said in a statement, according to Reuters. They added that the safety of the blood supply was preserved “thanks to the monitoring and alarm systems of the facilities, as well as the precautionary measures immediately implemented.”
Gn world
