France has formally accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of orchestrating cyberattacks that sabotaged supermarket refrigeration systems across France and Europe last month, destroying tons of food and marking what French officials called an unprecedented act of sabotage. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that France had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Paris and said the government would impose sanctions on those responsible. Iran has not officially responded, though some Iranian media outlets have dismissed the allegations as baseless.
The initial attack on October 11 targeted software controlling refrigeration units in French supermarkets, causing temperatures in some stores to spike to 50 degrees Celsius overnight. More than 100 Coopérative U stores, 180 Intermarché and Netto locations, and outlets operated by Carrefour, Monoprix, and E.Leclerc were affected. The hackers compromised software provided by Danish engineering firm Danfoss that allows retailers to manage cold storage units remotely. A second wave of attacks hit more than 100 stores across Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden, Ireland, the Netherlands, Estonia, and Finland earlier this month.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau announced a criminal investigation targeting the head of an IRGC-affiliated offensive cyber unit called Shahid Kaveh, along with two deputies. The unit is believed to be part of the IRGC's electronic and cyber center. Shahid Kaveh is a name associated with a cluster of hackers thought to be directly employed by the Iranian government.
A separate incident in August involving malfunctioning refrigeration at U.S. military bases is also being investigated as a deliberate cyberattack, according to sources cited by Reuters. French authorities have not disclosed how they attributed the attacks to Iran, and experts note that attribution of cyberattacks is extremely difficult because hackers can conceal their locations. Two Russian-aligned hacktivist groups claimed responsibility last week, but few believed them.