France Blames IRGC Unit for Supermarket Fridge Attacks

France has attributed cyberattacks on nearly 700 supermarket refrigeration systems to an Iranian Revolutionary Guard cyber unit and is seeking European sanctions against those responsible. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said France would also take other measures it considered necessary and proportionate to deter further attacks.

The intrusions took place on October 11 and 12, French authorities said. Attackers remotely altered refrigeration controls, raising temperatures and causing food losses at retail sites across the country. France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs estimated that food and other goods worth tens of millions of euros were lost. French cyber officials reported at least 15 fires linked to the attacks.

Barrot said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, was responsible. France’s Cyber Crisis Coordination Centre attributed the operation to Shahid Kaveh, a unit affiliated with the IRGC’s Electronic and Cyber Centre. The centre cited technical indicators including Farsi-language traces and digital infrastructure links. The attribution is the French government’s assessment; the evidence described in the reports has not been independently established.