AP-Yonhap NewsFrance has identified Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as responsible for a cyberattack last month that disabled refrigeration and freezer systems at hundreds of supermarkets nationwide. The French government called the incident an unprecedented cyberattack and signaled a strong response against Iran.French intelligence and cybersecurity authorities said a hacking group linked to the Revolutionary Guards, known as Shahid Kaveh, led the attack last month, Reuters reported on the 9th, local time. French authorities cited similarities in the hacking methods and traces of Persian found in the attack systems as evidence.On Oct. 11, 700 commercial facilities across France, including supermarkets and food processing plants, were targeted by a cyberattack that abnormally raised temperatures in refrigeration and freezer systems. Temperatures rose sharply at some sites, causing fires, and food stored in freezers had to be discarded. Some estimates put nationwide damage at tens of millions of euros.French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on the 9th that the government could confirm Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps carried out the attack. He said the attack was unprecedented in scale and sophistication, calling it the first large-scale cyberattack aimed at sabotage on French territory and an act targeting the country’s national interests and the security of French citizens.Sanctions at the European Union level are also expected to follow. Barrot said Europe would impose sanctions on all those responsible for the attack, adding that France would take all necessary and proportionate measures to respond to the incident and prevent similar attacks. The French Foreign Ministry summoned Iran’s ambassador to France to lodge a strong protest.Judicial authorities have also opened a full investigation into those involved. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators were examining the head of Shahid Kaveh and two members of the group, which is linked to the IRGC Cyber-Electronic Command. Paris prosecutors have also requested international arrest warrants for those involved.Alarm is growing in Europe as cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure mount. Following the attack on refrigeration systems at French supermarkets, more than 100 facilities across Europe suffered similar damage this month. In France, storage facilities at a blood bank were also hacked.In the United States, refrigeration systems stopped working at convenience stores on at least six military bases in August, and the Defense Department is investigating whether a cyberattack was responsible. U.S. authorities have placed Iran under suspicion.
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