Cyberattack Alters Blood Storage Freezers at French Facilities

The agency said the target was one of its refrigeration equipment suppliers, not the EFS itself. It did not name the company, but the European firm Coolworld Rentals acknowledged it was hit. In a brief statement, it said the hackers exploited a flaw in a third-party component to compromise its refrigeration units. The company added that no blood or plasma was lost and that collection and distribution carried on without interruption.

A wider pattern across Europe

The incident comes days after hackers breached hundreds of French supermarkets and stores in the Netherlands, where refrigeration failures reportedly spoiled tons of food. No group has claimed responsibility for any of the attacks on cooling systems. Agencies including France's ANSSI, Sweden's National Cyber Security Centre and Belgium's Federal Prosecutor's Office are investigating, but have not identified who is behind them.

In most cases, attackers exploit outdated remote modules and controllers, notably from Danfoss, Copeland and Dixell. These devices were connected to the internet without the necessary software updates. Weak access credentials and remote access to systems that no longer receive security patches add to the risk.

In 2025, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) disclosed two vulnerabilities in Danfoss controllers that could allow remote command execution and authentication bypass. Danfoss fixed the flaws and urged customers to update to the latest firmware, a step many of the affected refrigeration operators apparently skipped.

The pattern shows how everyday cold-chain equipment has become a target for attackers, with consequences that extend from food waste to medical supplies. Predicting the next target is difficult, particularly as AI helps uncover vulnerabilities before vendors can patch them.