France Accuses Iran of Supermarket Refrigerator Hacking

France has announced that Iran was behind cyber attacks that raised the refrigerator and freezer temperatures in hundreds of supermarkets across the country, resulting in millions of euros worth of spoiled food. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that the attack was carried out by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated at a press conference that the attack was unprecedented in terms of its scale and level of aggression, announcing that sanctions would be implemented at the European level against those responsible. It was reported that the cyber attacks, which took place on October 11 and 12, affected over 100 Coopérative U supermarkets and 180 stores belonging to the Intermarché and Netto brands; it was noted that some refrigerator temperatures rose to as high as 50 degrees at night.

The Paris prosecutor's office has launched an investigation into the head of a cyber attack unit linked to the IRGC named Shahid Kaveh and two of his deputies, while a second wave targeting over 100 facilities across Europe took place earlier this month. It was stated that refrigerators used by blood banks in France were also affected in the second wave, forcing employees to move blood supplies to other cold storage facilities. While Iran's United Nations mission did not respond to requests for comment, the incidents are linked to discussions regarding potential Russian sabotage campaigns and artificial intelligence-assisted cyber attacks.