France blames Iran for cyberattacks on supermarket freezers

The French government has blamed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard for cyber attacks on refrigeration plants in France. Thanks to the efforts of state authorities, he was able to confirm "that responsibility for this attack lies with the Revolutionary Guard of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.

He spoke of an attack “of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness.” The Iranian ambassador to France was summoned "to protest very vigorously against this extremely serious act."

Sanctions announced

The cyber attacks affected a total of 700 locations in France in mid-October. "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 continued.

Therefore the act will not remain without consequences. "We will impose sanctions at European level against all those responsible for this attack." And "all further appropriate and necessary measures" would be taken to respond to this attack "and to deter those who would wish to repeat it."

Large amounts of food thrown away

In addition to France, other European countries have been hit by cyber attacks on refrigeration and freezing systems since mid-October, including Germany. Attackers remotely caused the temperature in refrigerators and freezers to rise, causing goods to spoil. Large amounts of food had to be thrown away.

At the beginning of November, the French blood bank was also 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 was not yet known who was behind the attacks. However, there were suspicions that these could be so-called hybrid attacks from the Russian side.