France accuses Iran’s IRGC of cyberattacks on supermarkets
Jean-Noël Barrot said the attacks reprogrammed freezers and caused millions in spoiled food; Paris summoned Iran’s ambassador.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot has publicly blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for a series of cyberattacks that interfered with refrigeration systems at multiple supermarket chains in France, saying hackers reprogrammed freezers and refrigerators to raise their temperatures.
Spread to other European countries
Barrot described what happened as a direct assault on national interests and the safety of French citizens. "This was the first major cyber attack aimed at conducting sabotage on national territory, and it was a serious attack on the interests of the nation and the security of the French people," he said.
The first recorded incident occurred on French territory last month, when refrigerators at hundreds of stores across the country were hacked, resulting in millions of euros worth of spoiled food.
Last week, authorities reported an identical pattern of attacks affecting hundreds of markets in the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden and parts of the Baltic states.
Barrot said the French government summoned the Iranian ambassador in Paris to deliver a strong protest.
French authorities have not released details explaining how they reached the conclusion that Tehran was responsible for the attacks.
Photo: press material from the event
