The Fridge-Hacking Spree Is an Internet-of-Things Wake-Up Call

Three sites in France that handle blood and plasma bags were briefly impacted this week by widespread attacks on vulnerable internet-connected refrigerators. On Wednesday, the Établissement Français du Sang (EFS) confirmed that cold rooms storing blood were “raised to very high temperatures” on November 2. The blood samples, thankfully, weren’t altered or damaged, the EFS said, because the organization’s alarm facilities and staff quickly detected the changes and implemented fail-safe measures.

The incident, however, comes amid a wave of cyberattacks in recent days affecting supermarket chains in at least 11 European countries that also drastically increased the temperatures of their refrigerators. Pictures from across the continent show huge volumes of food being trashed following the spikes.