France blames Iran for cyberattack on supermarket fridges
What's the story
France has accused Iran of being behind a major cyberattack on its supermarkets last month. The attack, which targeted around 700 retailers, caused massive spoilage of fresh and frozen produce. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the incident as "an attack of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness." He called it the first large-scale cyberattack for sabotage purposes on French soil. "It represents a major assault on the nation's interests and on the security of the French people," Barrot said.
Accusation details
Paris prosecutor's office accuses IRGC of orchestrating attack
France has summoned Iran's ambassador and also said it intends to impose retaliatory sanctions "at a European level."
The Paris prosecutor's office on Monday accused Iran of being behind the attack, citing "the use of Farsi and IP addresses pointing to devices located in Iran."
It said it had opened an investigation into the head of Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and its leaders.
Sanctions planned
France to impose sanctions at a European level
The cyberattack took place when hackers remotely connected to supermarket refrigerators and raised their temperature by up to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
As a result, vast amounts of fresh and frozen product went to waste, and some refrigeration equipment even caught fire.
Similar disruptions were reported in at least nine other European countries earlier this month, but it's unclear if they are linked to the French incident.