France Accuses Iran of Cyberattacks on Supermarket Fridges

France has accused Iran of launching destructive cyberattacks against its critical infrastructure in October, according to the French National Cybersecurity Agency, ANSSI.

The Attacks

ANSSI said Iranian military hackers took over refrigeration controllers at around 700 different retail sites in France, from supermarkets to butcher shops, turning up the temperature in the middle of the night and spoiling food.

The hackers also targeted several small hydroelectric power plants, resulting in "moderate effects," ANSSI wrote in its press release.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described the campaign as "unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression." He said it "marks 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."

Attribution and Investigation

The Paris Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the Iranian cyber unit Shahid Kaveh, which the French government links to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

ANSSI said it identified the hackers through digital clues, including digital infrastructure used by the hackers, connection to a propaganda outlet, and "traces" of the use of Farsi language in the attack.

Iran has yet to respond to the accusations.

Wider Context

The attacks are part of a larger trend in 2026. Grocery stores in European countries including Sweden and Ireland were hit in similar attacks.

In Israel in the spring, suspected Iranian hackers going by the name of "Cyber Isnaad Front" claimed responsibility for sabotaging an industrial food processing plant. Cyber incident response firm Profero attributed the Israel attack to a wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Over the summer, commissaries on U.S. military bases experienced similar disruptions when food spoiled after temperatures rose inside refrigerators and freezers overnight. The Pentagon has not made any official statement on those incidents.

Why it matters

The French government is the first to formally assign blame for the wave of destructive attacks on refrigeration systems. Cybersecurity experts say the incidents highlight longstanding difficulties in securing operational technology, such as machines that control cooling systems, which are often outdated, difficult to patch, and exposed to the open internet.

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Sources

• npr.org: France accuses Iran of cyber 'sabotage' in fridge attacks : NPR
• bbc.com: France accuses Iran of supermarket fridge hacking
• securityaffairs.com: France Blames Iran for the Supermarket Fridge Attacks

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.