Cyber-attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems: Belgium sees Iranian footprints
Following France, Belgium also sees connections to Iran in hacking attacks on cooling systems at European supermarket chains. Interior Minister Quintin calls for EU sanctions.
Belgium sees Iran behind attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems
Belgium, following France, now also sees evidence of Iranian actors behind the recent cyber-attacks on refrigeration systems of supermarket chains. This is reported by the Tages-Anzeiger, citing the Belgian news agency Belga.
"Belgian security services also refer to evidence of possible links to known Iranian actors," said Interior Minister Bernard Quintin. The state prosecutor is examining this evidence more closely. "We take these cyber-attacks very seriously and are deploying all necessary resources to assess the threat," Quintin said. "There is no cause for panic, but we remain particularly vigilant."
In the incidents, attackers raised the temperature in refrigerators and freezers at supermarkets remotely, causing goods to spoil. In addition to Belgium, Sweden, France and Germany were also affected by the cyber-attacks on cooling and freezing systems in supermarkets and food businesses.
France had already blamed the Iranian Revolutionary Guards for the hacking attacks on Monday. Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described it as an attack "of unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggression". Paris announced new sanctions against those responsible.
Belgium's Interior Minister Quintin wants to follow suit. "Iran has attacked France and possibly also Belgium," he said. His country must "clearly support" the call for European sanctions against states that carry out cyber-attacks on EU territory.
Iran rejected the accusation. The allegations by the French government were an "irresponsible and ridiculous step" intended to damage the country's reputation and disrupt its relations with other states, according to a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also commented on Wednesday: he described the cyber-attacks as a "next level" hybrid attack that required a "next level" response. "Consequence, risk and price" had to be increased for hybrid actors. Germany was now creating the legal conditions to "strike back in cyberspace".
Source: Tages-Anzeiger