Illustrative photo via Pexels
France has accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of carrying out cyberattacks that sabotaged refrigeration systems at around 700 grocery sites across the country, in what Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called an attack of unprecedented scale and aggression.
The attacks took place on October 11 and 12, according to Barrot, and caused at least 15 fires, The Record reported. The attribution comes from a five-page report by France’s Cyber Crisis Coordination Centre, which includes the cybersecurity agency ANSSI and the DGSE and DGSI intelligence services.
The report names Shahid Kaveh, an IRGC cyber unit, as responsible, and identifies the head of the IRGC’s Electronic and Cyber Center and two deputies. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau has opened a judicial investigation into the three men and requested international arrest warrants.
Barrot announced the findings at a G7 ministerial meeting in Paris on Monday. France has summoned Iran’s ambassador and says it will push for European Union sanctions. Iran, which routinely denies conducting malicious cyber operations, had not responded as of Monday evening.
Reuters reported that Microsoft had privately linked Iran to the October attacks about two weeks earlier. A second wave of attacks on refrigeration systems in early November hit sites in several other European countries, though France has not attributed those to the IRGC.
Sources: The Record, Khaleej Times / Reuters, Türkiye Today. Photo: Pexels (illustrative).
