By Basant El-Faramawy
Hackers compromised refrigeration systems at three French blood plasma facilities on 2 November 2026, raising temperatures to as high as 110°C before monitoring systems detected the intrusion and prevented damage to stored samples, the French Blood Establishment (EFS) said.
Blood Bank Attack in France
The EFS reported that temperatures and defrosting thresholds were reprogrammed to extremely high levels at its cold-storage sites. French publication Le Canard Enchaîné first disclosed that systems were altered from -30°C to 110°C. The agency confirmed no blood products were spoiled because the anomaly was caught in time.
Supermarket Freezers Hit Across Europe
On the same day, a separate cyber attack affected supermarket refrigerators and freezers across at least 10 European countries. Authorities have not determined whether the two incidents are connected, and no hacking group has claimed responsibility for either operation.
Authorities Investigate Possible Links
French investigators are examining the blood bank breach, while European Union spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the bloc is coordinating with national authorities on a collective response. “These are not isolated incidents and of course we have to be collectively resilient and prepared for such cyber incidents,” Regnier said.
Warnings Over Outdated Systems and AI
Richard Horne, chief of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, warned that many organisations have not kept critical computer systems up to date, leaving vulnerabilities that artificial intelligence tools now allow adversaries to exploit at greater speed and scale. Barry Mainz, CEO of cybersecurity firm Forescout, said attacks on connected infrastructure such as hospitals, energy and food supply have turned cyber risk into a direct threat to public health and national security.
