France accuses Iran's IRGC of cyberattack on freezers

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot formally accused Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Monday of carrying out a cyberattack that targeted refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarket branches across France. In an unusually direct statement, the minister made clear that Tehran "will bear the consequences" of its actions.

The cyberattack, which took place in recent weeks, was aimed at the thermal control systems of industrial refrigerators and freezers. Hackers seized control of temperature controllers and raised them to tens of degrees Celsius, leading to the spoilage of large quantities of food products and widespread economic damage.

According to reports, at least 350 branches of French retail chains were affected, including Carrefour, Monoprix, Intermarché and Coopérative U. In one case, refrigeration systems were altered in a way that raised the temperature in freezers to as high as 50 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday, crates containing spoiled meat and frozen food products were seen outside branches in Paris.

Barrot's accusation comes after France's National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) and intelligence officials investigated the source of the attack. The investigation revealed that the cyber arms of the Revolutionary Guards exploited security vulnerabilities in refrigeration controllers to strike at the civilian supply chain.

"The Revolutionary Guards are responsible for the cyberattack that hit refrigerators across France, and Iran will bear the consequences," Barrot emphasized. His statement marks a significant escalation in the French and European response to Iranian cyber warfare.

The refrigerator attack is not the only incident of its kind. About two weeks ago, a similar attack occurred on the refrigeration systems of the French Blood Service (EFS). In that case, hackers took control of Coolworld company refrigeration systems and changed temperature settings from minus 30 degrees Celsius to 110 degrees Celsius. An on-call technician noticed the unusual change during the night and alerted the relevant authorities, preventing damage to blood reserves.

Blood units (Photo: Shutterstock) (Photo: Shutterstock)

The French accusation adds to a series of cyber operations attributed to Iran. Recently, residents in northern Tel Aviv discovered threatening flyers in their mailboxes bearing QR codes. The hacker group 'Handala' claimed responsibility for the operation and asserted it had distributed hundreds of thousands of leaflets across Tel Aviv, with the flyers including threats to strike critical infrastructure in Israel.

At the same time, actors identified with Iran are sending direct threats toward military bases in Europe. In a video distributed about a week ago, explicit threats were heard to strike Britain, Germany and France, alongside a call to the European public to rise up against their governments.

The economic damage from the refrigerator attack in France is estimated at tens of millions of euros. One of the unusual features of the affair is the absence of a ransom demand, which raises questions about the true motive behind the attack.