French blood banks targeted by refrigerator cyberattack

A cyberattack had attempted to destroy blood plasma by raising the temperatures in cold storage facilities past the boiling point. Blood banks in France were included among cyberattacks that hit refrigeration systems in several European countries on Sunday and Monday, French authorities said on Wednesday.

The French Blood Establishment (EFS) said that a " cybersecurity incident "targeted a refrigeration service provider affecting control systems at three cold storage sites for plasma and blood samples. The cyberattack attempted to raise temperatures to extremely high levels but it was warded off before any damage could be done.

The plasma in the affected refrigerators was transferred or secured, the EFS said. "No health consequences have been identified, and no blood products were lost," the EFS said in a statement, adding that its distribution operations were not interrupted.