France has opened an investigation and accused Iran of cyberattacks on supermarket refrigeration units that caused fires and food waste across the country. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attacks on October 11 and 12 were "carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran" and called them "unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression."
The Paris prosecutor's office requested international arrest warrants against the leader of Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC, and his two deputies. Authorities say hackers gained internet access to refrigeration systems and remotely raised temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight when shops were closed. The elevated temperatures sparked fires in some cases and melted equipment.
Five French supermarket groups were targeted. At least 300 Intermarche stores and its Netto brand were affected. Cooperative U said more than 100 supermarkets were targeted, Carrefour reported 80 affected stores, and Monoprix said about 5 percent of its roughly 490 stores were hit. Retailers reported millions of euros in food spoilage.
Barrot said the Iranian ambassador had been summoned and that France would bring sanctions against Iran "at a European level."