Hackers escalate Europe's fridge attacks, now target France's blood banks

Hackers infiltrated the control systems of three cold-storage facilities holding critical blood products in France, manipulating temperature settings in what appears to be a widening campaign targeting refrigeration infrastructure across Europe.

The attacks, which have increasingly disrupted refrigeration systems at supermarkets and other facilities across the continent, are raising concerns about the vulnerability of essential services to cyber intrusions.

From food supplies to potentially life-saving medical products, the incidents have exposed how remotely controlled equipment can become a weapon against critical infrastructure.

The Guardian reported that France’s national blood service, Établissement Français du Sang (EFS), said the intruders had raised temperature and defrosting thresholds to “very high levels”, potentially putting stored products at risk.

However, its alarm systems enabled technicians to intervene before the contents were compromised.

The EFS, the country’s public blood transfusion operator, is responsible for collecting, testing, processing and distributing blood, plasma and platelets to more than 1,900 hospitals nationwide. Its services support more than a million patients annually.

The breach, which occurred overnight on Monday, was part of a series of incidents involving refrigeration units across Europe.

Millions of euros in damages

On Tuesday, supermarket operators in Italy, Germany, Romania and the United Kingdom reported attacks that sent refrigerator and freezer temperatures soaring to as high as 50C (122F), resulting in millions of euros in damaged food stocks.

These followed similar disruptions reported a day earlier in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden.

France had already experienced a major wave of attacks last month, when hackers reportedly took control of cooling systems at as many as 700 supermarkets.

Separately, a regional branch of French banking group Crédit Mutuel disclosed on Wednesday that it had also suffered a cyber-attack.

The incidents have also drawn attention to possible vulnerabilities beyond Europe.

In early August, unexplained refrigeration failures affected commissaries at least six US military bases, prompting the Pentagon to investigate a suspected cyber intrusion.

The growing number of incidents has prompted European authorities to step up coordination.

EU steps up

Following emergency discussions between Italy's government and intelligence officials on Tuesday, European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said EU agencies were working urgently with national authorities to develop a coordinated response.

“These are not isolated incidents and of course we have to be collectively resilient and prepared for such cyber incidents,” he said, declining to speculate on who might be behind the attacks.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility and investigators have yet to establish a motive.

The attacks have highlighted the risks posed by increasingly connected infrastructure, with commercial refrigeration systems among the many devices that can now be monitored and operated remotely.

Cybersecurity vulnerabilities can emerge when manufacturers and operators fail to install software updates and security patches, potentially leaving internet-connected equipment exposed to intrusion.

There are also concerns that the incidents could form part of a broader pattern of hybrid warfare, particularly following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow involved?

Western intelligence agencies have accused Moscow of conducting a campaign of sabotage across Europe, employing tactics that extend beyond conventional military operations.

However, Rafe Pilling, senior director for threat intelligence at cybersecurity firm Sophos, told The Guardian this week that the most plausible explanations for the attacks involved either a “state-based signalling and demonstration of capability” or an individual hacker acting alone.

For its part, the EFS stressed that it had not been directly targeted, with the compromised facilities belonging to contractors responsible for its cold-storage operations.

Blood products held at the affected sites, including plasma bags used for transfusions and pharmaceutical manufacturing, were transferred to alternative facilities.

The organisation said France's national cybersecurity agency (ANSSI) and health ministry had been informed of the incident, while surveillance of its equipment had been intensified.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia is among the countries considered potential targets of cyberattacks.

He said that while not all information could be disclosed, the country's digital capabilities and its stance on certain international issues, particularly Gaza, had placed it in the spotlight.

"Malaysia is certainly among those considered a target," Anwar said.

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