OMM Newsroom
Cold-storage facilities used by France’s national blood service were targeted in a cyberattack, with units containing blood samples reportedly programmed to reach 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit), French weekly Le Canard enchaîné reported on Tuesday. Anadolu Agency also reported the incident.
The attack took place overnight from Sunday to Monday and targeted “Coolworld”, a company that maintains storage containers for the French Blood Establishment (EFS), including facilities in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, according to the report.
The storage units are normally kept at minus 30 degrees Celsius to preserve donor blood samples.
The EFS said an on-duty technician detected rising temperatures at the facilities overnight, allowing the incident to be identified.
France’s Health Ministry said the incident had caused no operational consequences because it was detected.
The EFS initially said the affected samples were stored as part of a health-monitoring system related to blood transfusions.
