Iran denies role in cyberattacks on French supermarket refrigerators

Iran denies French cyberattack accusations

Iran denied accusations by France that it was behind recent cyberattacks targeting supermarket refrigerators, calling the claims “baseless and biased,” according to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry.

The ministry said it “strongly condemns” France’s “worn-out policy of making accusations against Iran.”

French response and investigation

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot said on Monday that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for the “unprecedented” cyberattacks against several supermarket chains last month. The attacks affected 700 food distribution sites.

On Tuesday, Barrot said Paris would not “rule out anything” in its response.

“We'll take all measures, including those we will not disclose publicly, which we ourselves consider proportionate and necessary to deter any further attacks and punish those responsible for this unacceptable aggression,” he said.

Iran’s ambassador to France has been summoned to the foreign ministry after French prosecutors said they were opening an investigation into the hacks.

According to French investigators, Iran’s cyber unit linked to the IRGC, Shahid Kaveh, carried out the destructive attacks. The French investigation will focus on the unit’s head, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.

The prosecutor’s office added that about 20 fires had been started because of the cyberattack.

“The attackers took remote control of the equipment via web interfaces to trigger abnormal defrost cycles of unlimited duration, while disabling the security alerts on the sensors that were supposed to activate once a certain temperature was exceeded,” it added.

European reaction

European Council President Kaja Kallas said the topic of alleged Iranian hacks would be discussed at next week’s European foreign affairs council. If the attribution is confirmed, she said, “[Europe’s] response should be strong.”

The European Commission is also looking into the cyberattacks. European Agriculture and Food Commissioner Christophe Hansen described them as a “deliberate attempt to disrupt our food supply chain.”

Sources

• politico.eu: Iran denies role in cyberattacks on French supermarket refrigerators – POLITICO
• washingtonexaminer.com: The voters have spoken. But what did they say?

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