HACKERS ATTEMPT TO BOIL FRENCH BLOOD BANKS AT 230 DEGREES
Hackers broke into the cooling systems of three French blood banks and attempted to boil the blood supplies by cranking the freezers to 230 degrees Fahrenheit. The malicious attack failed because on-site staff received immediate alarms and safely moved the life-saving plasma to unconnected refrigerators.
The intrusion targeted cold-storage monitoring and control systems at three regional facilities of the French Blood Establishment (EFS) on November 2, 2026. According to the New York Post, the hackers attempted to change the equipment settings from minus 22 degrees to a blistering 230 degrees.
EFS officials said their monitoring systems detected the extreme temperature thresholds as soon as the hackers changed them. The agency serves as France’s public blood service, collecting and distributing blood and platelets to more than 1,900 hospitals. The organization supports more than a million patients annually, UPI reported.
“We have staff round the clock since blood can be needed at any time,” EFS spokesperson Charley Dubois told Reuters. “They were warned about the problems by alerts and moved the blood to other refrigerators that were not connected.”
The cyberattack coincides with a broader wave of freezer hijackings across Europe. Similar intrusions hit grocery store refrigeration systems in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Estonia, raising temperatures to 122 degrees to spoil thousands of dollars in groceries. Last month, hackers also targeted supermarket fridges in France, triggering fires and massive food losses.
Authorities have not yet identified the hackers or established a motive for targeting medical supplies. Following the breach, EFS alerted France’s national cybersecurity agency and the health ministry.
On November 4, 2026, the French Health Ministry announced the situation was fully under control and that remote access to the affected blood bank refrigerators had been disabled. Investigations are now underway to figure out exactly how the hackers gained access to the vulnerable systems.
