Hackers reportedly targeted the French Blood Establishment (EFS) by attacking its cooling service provider, Coolworld, and changing the temperature settings of refrigeration equipment used to store blood plasma. The attackers allegedly changed the settings from around -30 degree celsius to 110 degree celsius. The incident took place overnight between November 1 and 2, raising concerns about frozen plasma used for patient transfusions. According to reports, facilities in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region were among those affected. France’s Health Ministry reportedly said staff detected the unusual temperature readings in time and prevented any disruption to operations.
Coolworld provides refrigeration equipment and maintenance services, including cooling units used in medical facilities. According to reports, an on-call technician noticed the unusual temperature readings during the night. This allowed the teams to respond before the incident affected their operations.
Initially, the incident was believed to involve donor samples kept for blood safety checks. However, EFS later confirmed that frozen plasma meant for transfusions was also involved.
There is no confirmation that any plasma was destroyed or that patient transfusions were disrupted. No patient harm has been reported so far.
The exact number of affected units and how long the temperature settings remained changed are still unknown. It is also unclear what temperatures the stored plasma actually reached.
The reported 110 degree celsius figure refers to the temperature entered into the equipment’s control system. It does not mean that the inside of the freezers or the stored plasma actually reached 110 degree celsius.
This difference is important because the actual risk depends on the temperature inside the equipment and how long the plasma remained outside safe storage conditions. Fresh frozen plasma generally needs to be stored at -25 degree celsius or below.
It is still unclear how the attackers accessed Coolworld’s systems. There is also no confirmed information about the software or security flaw they may have used.
The incident has raised fresh concerns about cyberattacks targeting refrigeration systems. Just a few days back, supermarkets across Belgium, Sweden and Ireland were hit by a suspected cyberattack that disrupted their refrigerators and freezers.