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.
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