France has accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of being behind cyberattacks on hundreds of supermarket refrigerators in October and has warned that Iran could face consequences.
Issued on: 10/11/2026 - RFI
A closed frozen food aisle at a supermarket near Nantes, western France, after a cyberattack targeted refrigeration systems at supermarket chains on 11-12 October, which France now attributes to Iran. © Stephane Mahe/Reuters
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that France would consider all proportionate measures to deter further attacks, including measures that might not be made public.
"We rule nothing out and will take all measures... to deter any further attacks," he told FranceinfoTV.
On Monday France's Centre for Coordination of Cyber Crises (C4), which groups security agencies including the intelligence services, attributed the attacks to Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iran's ambassador summoned
France summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday and Barrot said new European-level sanctions would be proposed against individuals and entities involved in the attacks.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said Monday that a judicial investigation had been opened targeting the head of Shahid Kaveh, two deputies and other potential suspects.
The prosecutor's office has requested international arrest warrants be issued for two officials linked to the unit.
On the night of 11 to 12 October, attackers took control of the controllers for refrigeration systems for about 700 supermarkets and other stores across France and manipulated defrost settings, raising their temperatures.
The stores were forced to throw away large amounts of perishable food, costing tens of millions of euros, and fires were also reported.
Large-scale cyber sabotage
It was the first large-scale cyber sabotage on French territory and one of the biggest attack since the United States and Israel initiatied its war against Iran in February, which has been marked by episodes of digital sabotage.
"This attack is unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression," Barrot said on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in Paris.
In its analysis of the attack, C4 said Iran’s Shahid Kaveh unit "conducts large-scale campaigns targeting industrial equipment for the purpose of sabotage, directed primarily against Israel and the United States, but also against France and other European countries".
French prosecutors have opened an investigation into an attack last week on the Crédit Mutuel Arkéa bank, involving fraudulent transfers estimated at around €100 million.
And a separate attack last Monday targeted three cooling units containing donated blood and plasma donated to the French blood bank, EFS, intended for transfusions and medication manufacturing. Alert systems detected the attempted temperature changes before they could affect products. The incident is also under investigation.
Relations between France and Iran have been strained for years, over Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, its regional activities and the detention of several French nationals.
Although ties improved after those detainees were released and France distanced itself from the US war on Iran, relations deteriorated over the summer after Iran arrested and expelled two French diplomats. France responded by expelling Iranian diplomats.
French officials say Tehran has become increasingly hostile towards France, notably over its support for Iranian civil society.
No comments:
Post a Comment