France accuses Iran of supermarket fridge hacking

France has accused Iran of orchestrating a cyber-attack that caused supermarket refrigerators and freezers to overheat, leading to spoiled food estimated to be worth millions of euros. The attack, which targeted hundreds of supermarkets across France, was carried out by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot during a news conference.

Barrot described the incident as "unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression". In response, France plans to implement sanctions at the European level against those responsible for the attack.

The cyber-attack left fridges and freezers in Coopérative U supermarkets and 180 stores from Intermarché and its Netto brand overheated. Some stores recorded fridge temperatures reaching 50C (120F) overnight. The attack also impacted dozens of supermarkets across seven other European countries, though it is unclear if these incidents are linked. Iran has yet to respond to the accusations made by French officials.

On Monday, the Paris prosecutor opened an investigation into the head of an offensive cyber unit associated with Iran's IRGC as well as his two deputies. The unit, known as Shahid Kaveh, was named by the prosecutor as having an affiliation with the electronic and cyber centre of the IRGC.