France summons the Iranian ambassador after accusing Tehran of hacking the cooling systems in a number of major stores
The French Foreign Ministry summons the Iranian ambassador and talks about unprecedented attacks carried out by the Revolutionary Guard that led to the destruction of millions of euros of food.
Quick Look
France summoned the Iranian ambassador after accusing the Revolutionary Guard of being behind cyber attacks that targeted refrigerators in hundreds of supermarkets last month, resulting in millions of euros worth of food spoilage.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Hundreds of stores in France were subjected to cyber attacks last month targeting refrigerators.
France summoned its Iranian ambassador on Tuesday morning, following cyberattacks that affected refrigerators in a number of major stores, according to what the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.
The ministry added that the ambassador "was received this morning by the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in implementation of the recall decision announced by the minister yesterday."
Yesterday, France accused Iran of being behind cyber attacks that raised the temperatures of refrigerators and freezers in major retail chains.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said during a press conference that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard carried out the attack.
He described the attack as "unprecedented in terms of its size and level of aggression," noting that France "will impose sanctions at the European level against all those responsible for this attack."
The cyber attack, which occurred last month, caused the temperatures of refrigerators and freezers to rise in hundreds of stores and supermarkets across France, resulting in the damage of fresh and frozen food worth millions of euros.
Last week, dozens of food stores in seven other European countries were also damaged by a cyber attack targeting refrigerators and freezers. It is not known whether these attacks are related.
Iran has not yet responded to Barrow's accusations.
In a separate development on Monday, the Public Prosecutor in Paris announced the opening of an investigation against the head of a cyber-attack unit linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, and his two deputies.
The Public Prosecutor, Laure Picot, said that the unit is called “Shahid Kawa” and that it is linked to the Electronic and Cyber Center of the Revolutionary Guard.
On October 11, hackers were able to take control of the program that regulates the temperatures of the refrigeration units used in many French supermarkets.
The attack affected more than 100 supermarkets belonging to the “Cooperative U” chain, in addition to 180 stores belonging to the “Intermarche” chain and its “Netto” brand.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Imposing European sanctions against those responsible for the attack
Very likely · Within weeks
Open Questions
- Are the attacks targeting other European countries linked?
- What is the nature of the expected European sanctions against Iranian officials?
