French blood banks foil new cyberattack targeting refrigerators

A cyberattack has targeted cold stores housing donated blood supplies in France, authorities said Wednesday, the latest in a series of suspected hacks that has raised alarm across Europe.

A "cybersecurity incident" targeting a refrigeration service provider on Monday affected monitoring and control systems at three sites, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) said.

The cold stores – which contained blood samples as well as bags of plasma intended for transfusions and the manufacture of medicines – were programmed to reach 110C instead of -30C, according to French magazine Le Canard Enchaine, which first reported the incident.

But EFS said there had been "no health impact" and that "no loss of blood products" had been reported. It said blood collection and distribution operations remain uninterrupted, ensuring continued services for patients at hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Institutions and companies are on high alert over cyberattacks in Europe after a series of suspected hacks targeting supermarket refrigeration systems caused widespread disruption in recent days.

Also on Wednesday, French cooperative bank Credit Mutuel Arkea said it had been hit by a similar attack which "enabled fraudulent transactions to be carried out" but that clients' money was not affected. "The incident has been contained, operations are resuming,and client assets are not affected," the bank said in a statement reported by Reuters.

Dutch retail conglomerate Ahold Delhaize said Wednesday that the cyberattack it experienced last month which impacted its stores in the Netherlands, Belgium and the United States would reduce its fourth-quarter sales by up to 250 million euros ($281 million), according to a report by AFP.

Health Minister Stephanie Rist's office said the facilities' monitoring and alarm systems had ensured the safety of the blood supplies.

The health ministry said investigations had begun to establish how the incident happened, but gave no indication of who might be behind the cyberattack.

France's national cybersecurity agency is also investigating the incident.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters).