France blames Iran for supermarket cyberattack, seeks EU sanctions
Paris prosecutors allege the IRGC-backed group Shahid Kaveh manipulated refrigeration systems, causing temperatures to hit 122 degrees Fahrenheit and forcing stores to discard inventory.
By Julia Wang ·
French authorities identified Iran as the source of a massive cyberattack on supermarket refrigeration systems that occurred in October.
Paris prosecutors announced on Monday that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps orchestrated the intrusion. The attack took place on October 12 and affected approximately 700 of the 10,000 supermarkets operating in France.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned the incident during G7 talks in Paris. He stated that the attack was of unprecedented scale and aggressiveness. Barrot described it as the first large-scale cyberattack for sabotage purposes on French soil. He noted that the event posed a threat to national interests and the security of the French people.
Barrot confirmed that France will pursue sanctions at the European level against all responsible parties. He added that the government will take any other necessary measures to respond and deter future actions of this type. The French Foreign Ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the act in the strongest possible terms.
Laure Beccuau, the prosecutor in Paris, opened a formal judicial investigation into organized cybercrime. The investigation includes the aggravating circumstance that the crime was committed to serve the interests of a foreign power, specifically Iran. The national cybersecurity agency ANSSI attributed the intrusion to the group Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC.
Investigators found that the hackers used Persian language and internet addresses linked to devices located in Iran. The Paris prosecutor's office is requesting international arrest warrants for the group leader and two deputies. Beccuau explained that the investigation also targets any other individuals who may be identified in connection with the case.
The cyberattack allowed remote manipulation of cooling systems in hundreds of supermarkets and independent stores across France. Temperatures in the refrigerators reached 50 degrees Celsius, or 122 degrees Fahrenheit, for roughly six hours. Stores were forced to discard fresh and frozen products. The Intermarché supermarket chain reported losses of tens of millions of euros in a single day.
Another cyberattack targeted several blood banks in France last week. The attempt aimed to raise temperatures to extreme levels but was thwarted before damage occurred to blood products or samples. ANSSI and Paris prosecutors are investigating that incident. Similar refrigeration problems caused by cyberattacks also affected supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, and Estonia last week. ANSSI previously attributed attacks against Charlie Hebdo in 2023 and the Paris Olympics organization in 2024 to another IRGC-linked group called Shahid Shoostari.
