Symbolic imageFrench blood service cold stores hacked as Ahold Delhaize counts cost of its attack
Hackers tampered with cold stores of the French blood service, which says no products were damaged. Ahold Delhaize cut its profit forecast after its own hack.
The French blood service EFS confirmed on Wednesday, 4 November, that hackers raised temperature and defrosting thresholds to "very high levels" at three sites overnight on Monday, in cold stores run by contractors. Le Canard Enchaîné reported a jump from minus 30 to plus 110 degrees and named the firm Coolworld, which says a limited number of its units were hit through third-party management software. The EFS says its alarms let technicians intervene in time, so no products were compromised, and some stock was moved to other sites. The cybersecurity agency ANSSI and the health ministry were alerted.
Ahold Delhaize lowers outlook
The Dutch group expects to lose 200 to 250 million euros in sales and 75 to 100 million euros in operating profit in the fourth quarter. It now sees adjusted earnings per share growing by a low single-digit percentage instead of mid to high single digits, FAZ reports. The October attack had disrupted its Albert Heijn stores nationwide.
EU seeks joint response, culprit unclear
EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier called the incidents "not isolated" and declined to name culprits, with at least 11 countries affected. Romania's cyber directorate head Dan Cimpean calls the attacks "semi-amateurish" and rules out a state actor, while some authorities fear state-sponsored hybrid attacks, the Guardian reports.
Italy tells blood banks to stay alert
Italy's national blood centre urged transfusion services to step up temperature checks after the French attack, Politika reports.