France has accused Iran of orchestrating cyber-attacks that manipulated the temperatures of supermarket refrigerators and freezers. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated during a press conference that the assault was executed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Unprecedented Scale and European Sanctions
Barrot described the incident as unprecedented in scale and aggression, announcing that the nation will enforce European-level sanctions against everyone involved in the operation. Last month’s cyber-attack caused refrigerators and freezers in hundreds of French supermarkets to warm up, ruining fresh and frozen provisions valued at millions of euros.
A similar cyber-attack struck dozens of supermarkets across seven other European nations last week, targeting refrigeration units, though authorities have not yet confirmed a connection between the incidents. Iran has not yet replied to the accusations made by Barrot.
Prosecutor Investigation and Affected Stores
In a separate development on Monday, the Paris prosecutor announced an official inquiry targeting the leader of an offensive cyber unit connected to the IRGC alongside his two deputies. Laure Beccuau identified the unit as Shahid Kaveh, noting its connection to the electronic and cyber division of the IRGC.
The security breach occurred on October 11 when hackers seized control of the management software regulating refrigeration temperatures in numerous French grocery stores. More than 100 supermarkets belonging to Coopérative U were affected, alongside 180 locations from Intermarché and its Netto subsidiary. In several locations, refrigeration temperatures surged to 50C (120F) during the night.
