France blames Iran for ‘unprecedented’ supermarket fridge cyberattack

By Issy Ronald, Pierre P Bairin, CNN

(CNN) — France has blamed Iran for last month’s supermarket fridge cyberattack which spoiled produce at around 700 retailers, and vowed to slap sanctions on Tehran in response.

“This was an attack of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told reporters Monday, describing it as the first large-scale cyberattack carried out for sabotage purposes on French national territory.

“It represents a major assault on the nation’s interests and on the security of the French people,” Barrot said, adding that France has summoned Iran’s ambassador and intends to impose retaliatory sanctions “at a European level.”

There was no immediate comment from Tehran on the French allegations.

The cyberattack in October occurred when hackers remotely connected to supermarket fridges and freezers, and raised their temperature by switching on defrost cycles, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV. That led to the loss of large quantities of fresh and frozen produce, and even caused some of the refrigeration equipment to catch fire.

The Paris prosecutor’s office took up the case and on Monday accused Iran of being behind the attack, citing “the use of Farsi and IP addresses pointing to devices located in Iran.”

The prosecutor’s office said it had opened an investigation into the head of Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, his two deputies, and any other individuals responsible.

A similar cyberattack targeted supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Ireland earlier this month, though it remains unclear if the incidents are linked to the one in France. No one has claimed responsibility for this month’s cyberattacks.

This story has been updated.

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