France blames Iran for supermarket fridge hack, seeks EU sanctions
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday blamed Iran for the October cyberattack that disabled refrigeration at supermarkets across France.
PARIS — French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday blamed Iran for last month’s cyberattack that knocked out refrigeration at supermarkets across France and said Paris would seek European Union sanctions against those responsible.
Speaking to reporters in Paris, Barrot said that responsibility for the Oct. 11-12 attack "lies with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Background: Millions of euros worth of fresh and frozen food were destroyed after refrigeration units in around 700 supermarkets nationwide were remotely manipulated to reach temperatures as high as 80 degrees Celsius. At the time, no group claimed responsibility for the attack.
A second wave of cyberattacks took place on Nov. 2, targeting refrigeration units in supermarket chains across at least 11 countries, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Hackers also targeted three French blood banks this month, but staff managed to thwart the attacks before significant damage could be inflicted.
