Attacks on cooling systems: France identifies Revolutionary Guards as perpetrators

dpa | France sees Iran behind recent cyber attacks on refrigeration systems of French supermarket chains. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said the Iranian ambassador to France had been summoned “to protest very vigorously against this extremely serious act.”

Thanks to the efforts of the state authorities, he was able to confirm “that responsibility for this attack lies with the Revolutionary Guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” It is an attack of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness.

“This is the first large-scale cyberattack for sabotage purposes on French territory and represents a serious breach of the interests of the nation and the security of the French people,” Barrot said.

Therefore he will not remain without consequences. “We will impose sanctions at European level against all those responsible for this attack and will take all other appropriate and necessary measures – whether public or non-public – to respond to this attack and deter those who would like to repeat it.”

As Barrot said, around 700 supermarkets in France were affected by the cyberattacks on the night of October 11th to 12th. A lot of goods were damaged and fires broke out.

In addition to France, other European countries have been hit by cyber attacks on refrigeration and freezing systems in supermarkets and food establishments since mid-October. Attackers remotely caused the temperature in refrigerators and freezers to rise, causing goods to spoil.

At the beginning of November, the French blood bank was the target of such an attack. According to US media, several incidents are also being investigated in the United States. The EU Commission called a crisis meeting. It is still unclear who is behind the attacks.