French officials blame Iran for supermarket fridge hacking

· DW

The recent cyberattack on refrigerators and freezers in supermarkets in France was organized by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has said, describing the hacking as "unprecedented."

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attacks on French supermarkets last month came from Iran, and were carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of Iran's armed forces that answers directly to its religious leadership. 

"This attack is unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression," Barrot said, adding "we will implement sanctions at the European level against all those responsible for this attack."

What happened during the alleged refrigeration cyberattack?

While the cyberattack was comparatively simple, it nevertheless had serious consequences for hundreds of supermarkets, spoiling large quantities of produce and in some cases setting temperatures so high that refrigeration units caught fire. 

It was launched overnight on October 11-12, affecting around 700 of France's roughly 10,000 supermarkets.

The hack forced supermarkets to pull multiple products from their cold storage displays, and to throw many of them away entirelyImage: Fred Tanneau/AFP

A series of similar incidents also affected French supermarkets last week, and authorities even reported a failed attempt to hack cooling units at blood banks. 

Supermarkets in other European countries have reported similar security breaches, as have US authorities. It was not clear if any of all of these instances were connected.

What did French prosecutors say about the case? 

Meanwhile, a Paris prosecutor provided details on the hacking probe:

"A judicial investigation has been opened against the head of the Iranian group Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the Electronic and Cyber Center of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, against his two deputies, and against any other individuals who may be identified," Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said. 

Barrot's Foreign Ministry said that France "condemns in the strongest possible terms the unacceptable cyberattacks carried out on its territory by the Islamic Republic of Iran."