Hack hits cold stores at three French blood service sites

France’s blood service said on Wednesday that a cyberattack had hit cooling controls at three of its sites. Staff saved the plasma, and blood supplies kept flowing, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) said.

The EFS said alarms and checks had flagged the changes fast. Teams then moved the plasma or made it safe where it was stored. It reported no harm to health and no loss of blood products.

The stores held plasma for use in blood transfusions and to make drugs. The EFS said the hackers had raised heat and defrost settings to very high levels.

Le Canard Enchaîné put the new setting at 110C, against the usual minus 30C. That was the setting sought by the attackers, rather than a confirmed heat level reached by the plasma.

The EFS said it had not been the direct target, Politico reported. Deutsche Welle described an attack on a cooling service firm that affected three EFS sites. The Guardian said contractors ran the cold stores.

The Health Ministry said it had blocked remote access to the units hit. The EFS said it had told the ministry and France’s cyber agency, ANSSI, and stepped up checks on all its equipment.

The ministry and ANSSI said the inquiry was still under way. Neither named a suspect.

Coolworld, which supplies the cooling equipment, blamed a fault in a part from another firm. It said that part was outside its direct control and that few of its units had been hit.

The reports give different times for events. The Guardian placed the blood store attack overnight on Monday. Deutsche Welle said the wider attacks on shop cooling systems took place on Sunday and Monday. Politico dated the EFS statement to Tuesday; French officials spoke on Wednesday, Deutsche Welle reported.

EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said EU agencies were in urgent talks with national officials to agree a joint response to the attacks.