Cyberattacks hit France’s blood supply after grocery stores targeted

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Blood banks and grocery stores across Europe hit by cyberattacks

Possible cyberattacks on U.S. military bases are currently under investigation as well.
 By 

Neal Broverman

 on 

An empty freezer at a French supermarket.

An empty freezer at a French supermarket.Credit: Photo by Fred TANNEAU / AFP via Getty Images

Cyberattacks targeted several European countries this week, including grocery stores across the UK and the European Union, as well as three cold storage facilities in France that house some of the nation’s blood supply.

The blood facilities were targeted on Sunday and Monday, with the temperature of the remotely controlled containers raised to “very high levels,” according to EFS, France’s public blood, plasma, and platelets service. Technicians were alerted to the attack by alarms and moved the blood before the supplies were rendered unusable.

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Not long after, supermarket freezers and refrigerators in the UK, Italy, Germany, Romania, Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Finland, Luxembourg, Holland, and Sweden reportedly malfunctioned, with some machines going into defrost mode. Temperatures in some of the cooling units soared to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, causing millions of euros in spoiled food, the Guardian reported.


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The grocery store malfunctions were reminiscent of cyber-enabled attacks that hit hundreds of French grocery stores last month, which not only ruined food but sparked fires. Similarly, in August, commissaries at half a dozen US military bases reported that their freezers were remotely set to defrost overnight, ruining food supplies. An investigation into the incidents by the Defense Department is ongoing.

No individual or group has taken responsibility for the blood and grocery store incidents this week or earlier this year. Intelligence experts in Europe have posited that Russian officials are possibly recruiting people to commit sabotage in NATO nations.

Neal Broverman

Neal Broverman
Enterprise Editor

Neal joined Mashable’s Social Good team in 2024, editing and writing stories about digital culture and its effects on the environment and marginalized communities. He is the former editorial director of The Advocate and Out magazines, has contributed to the Los Angeles Times, Curbed, and Los Angeles magazine, and is a recipient of the Sarah Pettit Memorial Award for LGBTQ Journalist of the Year Award from the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association (NLGJA). He lives in Los Angeles with his family.

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