France blames Iran for supermarket refrigeration cyberattack

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot held Iran, specifically the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, responsible for a cyberattack on supermarket refrigeration systems that resulted in spoiled food at approximately 700 stores in France. The minister described the attack as the first large-scale cyberattack in France aimed at sabotage, and stated that it posed a serious threat to France's national interests and security.

As a result, France intends to pursue European Union sanctions against Iran. The attack occurred in October when hackers remotely accessed supermarket cold-storage rooms and freezers, raising the temperature inside by activating defrost cycles. This action caused large quantities of fresh and frozen food to spoil, and in some instances, the refrigeration equipment caught fire.

Paris has summoned the Iranian ambassador, and the Paris prosecutor's office is currently investigating the incident. Earlier on November 9, the Paris prosecutor's office attributed the attack to Iran due to the hackers' use of Persian language and IP addresses linked to devices located in Iran. Similar attacks targeting cooling systems in supermarkets were reported in several European countries on November 2, causing temperatures to rise to 50C and forcing stores to discard the food.