France Blames Iran for Sabotage Attack on Refrigeration Controllers at About 700 Retail Sites
An October cyberattack on refrigeration controllers at about 700 French retail sites was carried out by a cyber unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the French government said yesterday. The attackers broke into controllers on the night of October 11 and changed their defrost settings to high temperatures. That caused food losses and, in at least 15 cases, fires. The unit
The French government has accused a cyber unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for a recent cyberattack on refrigeration controllers at approximately 700 retail sites across France. On October 11, the attackers accessed controllers and altered their defrost settings to high temperatures, leading to food losses and at least 15 fires.
The unit, known as Shahid Kaveh, is primarily recognized through online personas such as CyberAveng3rs and Cyber Isnaad Front, which have claimed responsibility for some of its attacks. The French Foreign Ministry plans to summon Iran's ambassador and request additional sanctions against Iranian organizations and individuals involved in the attack.
A judicial investigation has been initiated against the unit's leader and two deputies, with calls for international arrest warrants. The attack involved taking remote control of Danfoss and Dixell refrigeration controllers through web interfaces, changing abnormal defrost cycles, and disabling temperature probes. The French cyber crisis coordination center, C4, identified four indicators pointing to the IRGC as the sponsor of the attack and Shahid Kaveh as the unit responsible.
The incident is considered the first offensive cyber campaign on French soil carried out purely for sabotage, with estimated food losses amounting to several tens of millions of euros.
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