United News of Bangladesh

A cyberattack targeting refrigeration systems at three French blood bank facilities attempted to raise storage temperatures to extremely high levels, but security systems detected the incident before any blood products or samples were damaged, French authorities said. The incident follows reports this week that supermarkets in several European countries experienced disruptions after hackers remotely accessed their refrigeration systems, causing refrigerators and freezers to warm up and resulting in millions of euros in spoiled food. The French Blood Establishment (EFS) said in a statement released late Tuesday that temperature and defrosting settings at three plasma storage facilities were raised to extremely high levels on Monday. Monitoring systems quickly detected the abnormal activity, allowing staff to intervene before any damage occurred, the organisation said. French weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaîné, which first reported the attack, said hackers had attempted to change storage temperatures from the normal minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit) to as high as 110 degrees Celsius (230 degrees Fahrenheit). The attack targeted a supplier of refrigeration equipment used at three EFS facilities. The affected storage units contained plasma bags intended for transfusions and plasma used in medicine production. The products were either transferred to other facilities or secured, according to the EFS. "No health consequences have been identified, and no blood products were lost," the organisation said. The EFS added that blood collection and distribution activities continued without interruption, ensuring uninterrupted supplies for patients at hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Coolworld, the company supplying the refrigeration equipment, said it was aware of the cybersecurity incident. In a statement, the company said the vulnerability reported in the media involved a component supplied by a third party and was beyond its direct control. It added that only a limited number of units were affected and that appropriate measures were being taken. France's national cybersecurity agency and the Health Ministry are investigating the incident. The latest attacks on refrigeration systems resemble a cyberattack in mid-October that affected refrigerators and freezers at hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores across France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Dutch supermarket chain Ahold Delhaize, one of the companies affected by the earlier incident, said Wednesday that the cyberattack could reduce its fourth-quarter sales by up to 250 million euros ($281 million) and lower its operating income by as much as 100 million euros. "While most of the disruption was contained within two weeks, work continues to fully restore our normal operations," CEO Franz Muller said in a statement accompanying the company's quarterly earnings report. He also warned that cyber threats had become an increasingly serious reality for businesses. The company had earlier attributed the disruption to "malicious actions by others" and proactively shut down some of its systems, including websites and applications for several brands operating in Europe and the United States.

A cyberattack on Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot disrupted its computer systems on Monday, forcing the cancellation of over 100 flights and delaying many others, Russia’s Prosecutor’s Office said. Ukrainian hacker group Silent Crow and Belarusian group Belarus Cyber-Partisans claimed responsibility, calling it one of the most damaging cyberattacks since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. Aeroflot confirmed system difficulties early Monday, warning of possible disruptions. Crowds of delayed passengers were seen at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport. The outage also affected Aeroflot subsidiaries Rossiya and Pobeda. Four killed in escalating Russia-Ukraine aerial attacks While most cancelled flights were domestic, some international routes to Belarus, Armenia, and Uzbekistan were also hit. Silent Crow claimed it had accessed Aeroflot's internal network for a year, stealing customer data, employee surveillance records, and internal communications. “These resources are now inaccessible or destroyed,” the group said on Telegram, adding the damage could cost millions to fix. They also suggested they might soon leak the stolen data, saying, “The personal data of all Russians who have ever flown with Aeroflot have now also gone on a trip — albeit without luggage.” The Belarus Cyber-Partisans said they aimed to cause serious disruption and had worked for months to exploit vulnerabilities in Aeroflot's systems. Russia’s Prosecutor’s Office has launched a criminal investigation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the attack “quite alarming,” noting that cyber threats remain a serious concern for major service providers. The incident adds to an already tense summer for Russia’s airports, which have faced multiple disruptions due to Ukrainian drone attacks.

Japan Airlines said it was hit by a cyberattack Thursday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights but the carrier said it was able to stop the onslaught and restore its systems hours later. There was no impact on flight safety, it said. JAL said the problem started Thursday morning when the company's network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning. The airline said it was able to identify the cause as an attack intended to overwhelm the network system with massive transmissions of data. Such attacks flood a system or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or crashes. The attack did not involve a virus or cause any customer data leaks, JAL said. It said that as of late morning, the cyberattack had delayed 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. Experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the vulnerability of Japan's cybersecurity, especially as the country steps up its defense capabilities and works more closely with the United States and other partners with much tighter cyber defenses. Japan has taken steps but experts say more work is needed. Read: Bangladesh, India to collaborate with each other to combat cyberattacks: Palak In June, Japan's space agency said it had suffered a series of cyberattacks since 2023, though sensitive information related to rockets, satellites and defense was not affected. It was investigating to take preventive measures. Last year, a cyberattack paralyzed operations at a container terminal at a port in the city of Nagoya for three days. JAL's ticket sales for both domestic and international fights scheduled for departure on Thursday were suspended temporarily but resumed several hours later. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news conference Thursday that the transport ministry told JAL to hasten efforts to restore the system and to accommodate affected passengers. Other Japanese airlines, including ANA Holdings, Skymark and Starflyer, were not affected. Television footage showed many passengers at Tokyo's Haneda airport crowded into its terminals as the attack hit the year-end holiday travel season. Offices will close from this weekend for the New Year holidays, the biggest celebration of the year, when millions of people travel back to their hometowns from the cities.

Japan Airlines said it was hit by a cyberattack Thursday, causing delays to more than 20 domestic flights but the carrier said it was able to stop the onslaught and restore its systems hours later. There was no impact on flight safety, it said. JAL said the problem started Thursday morning when the company's network connecting internal and external systems began malfunctioning. The airline said it was able to identify the cause as an attack intended to overwhelm the network system with massive transmissions of data. Such attacks flood a system or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or crashes. The attack did not involve a virus or cause any customer data leaks, JAL said. It said that as of late morning, the cyberattack had delayed 24 domestic flights for more than 30 minutes. Experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the vulnerability of Japan's cybersecurity, especially as the country steps up its defense capabilities and works more closely with the United States and other partners with much tighter cyber defenses. Japan has taken steps but experts say more work is needed. Iran restores access to WhatsApp and Google Play after they were banned amid protests In June, Japan's space agency said it had suffered a series of cyberattacks since 2023, though sensitive information related to rockets, satellites and defense was not affected. It was investigating to take preventive measures. Last year, a cyberattack paralyzed operations at a container terminal at a port in the city of Nagoya for three days. JAL's ticket sales for both domestic and international fights scheduled for departure on Thursday were suspended temporarily but resumed several hours later. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular news conference Thursday that the transport ministry told JAL to hasten efforts to restore the system and to accommodate affected passengers. Other Japanese airlines, including ANA Holdings, Skymark and Starflyer, were not affected. Television footage showed many passengers at Tokyo's Haneda airport crowded into its terminals as the attack hit the year-end holiday travel season. Offices will close from this weekend for the New Year holidays, the biggest celebration of the year, when millions of people travel back to their hometowns from the cities.

Iran's telecommunications minister announced on Sunday that the country has defused a second cyberattack in less than a week, this time "aimed at spying on government intelligence."