On November 2, 2026, cyberattacks targeted cooling controllers across European businesses and French health infrastructure. Hackers altered temperature settings at Coolworld, affecting blood storage facilities of France's Établissement français du sang, though internal alarm systems protected blood supplies. The breach follows widespread refrigeration attacks impacting hundreds of supermarkets in six countries. France's ANSSI agency is investigating compromised Danfoss and Dixell controllers.
Cyberattack on French national blood service
- ▪Hackers altered refrigeration settings from minus 30 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius at Établissement français du sang blood service facilities in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Le Canard Enchaîné said
- ▪Le Canard Enchaîné said an overnight cyberattack from November 1 to November 2, 2026 targeted Coolworld, a contractor maintaining storage equipment for the French national blood service Établissement français du sang
Cyberattacks on food retail refrigeration
- ▪During the November 2, 2026 refrigeration cyberattacks, a Swedish supermarket reported its refrigeration units were altered to 50 degrees Celsius
- ▪Cyberattacks on remote refrigeration controls on November 2, 2026 compromised fridges and freezers across supermarkets in at least six European countries, forcing businesses to discard food
Investigations into refrigeration cyberattacks
- ▪French authorities and European cybersecurity investigators have not publicly identified the perpetrators or motive behind the November 2026 European supermarket refrigeration cyberattacks
- ▪France's cybersecurity agency ANSSI began investigating European refrigeration system compromises in mid-October 2026 while coordinating preventative and remediation support for impacted industries
- ▪France's cybersecurity agency ANSSI identified Danfoss AK-SM and AK-SC series, Copeland xweb, and Dixell xweb remote controllers among the refrigeration systems compromised in Europe
Vulnerabilities of internet-connected devices
- ▪Connected refrigeration controllers enable remote monitoring and repairs for retailers but expose legacy software without security updates to internet-based cyber risks
- ▪University of St. Gallen cybersecurity professor Katerina Mitrokotsa stated that internet-connected appliances pose unrecognized cybersecurity risks because businesses treat connected devices like ordinary physical hardware
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