France summons Iran’s ambassador over supermarket fridge ‘sabotage’
France has summoned Iran's ambassador to Paris after accusing Tehran of carrying out a major cyberattack targeting supermarket refrigerators last month.
The French government said it is seeking tough sanctions to deter further cyberattacks across Europe. The attack targeted more than 700 French supermarkets on October 11 and 12, when refrigerators were remotely accessed to initiate abnormal, indefinite defrost cycles.
Raised temperatures in fridges forced supermarkets to discard all perishable food, with millions of euros' worth of food spoiled. In some cases, the temperature spikes sparked fires or melted equipment.
French supermarket groups E-Leclerc, Intermarche, Carrefour, Monoprix and Cooperative U were all affected by the cyberattack.
Unprecedented Attack
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the incident as "the first large-scale cyberattack aimed at sabotage on our national territory, and it constitutes a major attack on the nation's interests and the security of the French people."
I can also tell you that we rule nothing out and will take all measures – including those we may not disclose publicly – that we deem proportionate and necessary to deter any further attacks.
European Response
Barrot said the government would push for European Union sanctions in response to what he called an "attack of unprecedented scale and aggression in our country." Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has opened an investigation into Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit of the IRGC, and requested international arrest warrants for two of its officials.
Similar incidents have been reported in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden since the French attack. Jody Westby, CEO of Global Cyber Risk LLC, noted that tracking down responsible groups is "very difficult" due to poor cooperation on international cybercrime investigations.
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