France accuses Iranian Revolutionary Guard of cyberattack on 700 supermarkets
Paris has formally attributed a cyberattack in October that affected approximately 700 supermarkets and caused fires to Iran. The EU is considering a response.
Paris accuses Tehran of computer sabotage of supermarket refrigeration systems
France has formally accused the Iranian Revolutionary Guard of orchestrating a cyberattack that hit approximately 700 supermarkets in October, causing substantial damage and around 20 fires. The news was reported on Monday by jornaldenegocios.pt, which followed developments at the margin of the G7 meeting in Paris.
"Thanks to the remarkable work of state services, I am in a position to confirm that responsibility for this attack belongs to the Revolutionary Guards Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran," said French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot at a press conference. Barrot described the operation as "an attack of unprecedented scale and aggression".
Attacks on the nights of 11 and 12 October
The minister specified that the attacks took place on the nights of 11 and 12 October, affecting approximately 700 commercial establishments in France — with impact also on refrigeration systems of supermarkets in Portugal. Material damage was discovered only the following morning by employees of the establishments.
The computer hackers exploited vulnerabilities in the systems of two companies subcontracted by supermarket chains for maintenance and remote control of refrigeration facilities. Through these gaps, they accessed the temperature regulation mechanisms of refrigerated chambers and remotely activated defrost programmes. Temperature reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius, with simultaneous deactivation of automatic alert systems.
Judicial investigation and international arrest warrants
The Paris Public Prosecutor announced the opening of a judicial investigation targeting those responsible for the Iranian group Shahid Kaveh, a unit of offensive cyber operations associated with the electronic and cyber centre of the Revolutionary Guard.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau explained that the investigation aims at the leader of the group, two of its deputies and any other persons whose participation comes to be identified. French authorities issued several international arrest warrants in the course of the proceedings.
The suspects are being investigated for fraudulent damage to computer systems, committed by an organised group, with the aggravating circumstance of having acted in service of a foreign power. Investigators identified technical characteristics linking the attack to the Iranian group, including the use of the Persian language and internet addresses linked to equipment located in Iran.
Iranian ambassador summoned; European sanctions announced
The French Government summoned the Iranian ambassador in Paris to lodge a formal protest. "We summoned the ambassador of Iran in France to protest vehemently against this extremely serious act. We will adopt sanctions at European level against all those responsible for this attack," Barrot said.
Initially, publications specialising in cybersecurity had pointed suspicions at two pro-Russian hacker groups, NoName057(16) and Z-Pentest, previously associated with operations against European countries. The Kremlin denied, on 5 November, any involvement in the computer attacks that affected France and other European countries in the preceding weeks.
EU considers joint response
Shortly after the French accusations, the chief of the European Union's diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, admitted that the bloc could adopt a forceful response against Iran. "We have now learned that these incidents were attributed to Iran. Until now, we did not have knowledge of this attribution," Kallas said in statements to the press in Paris, where she also participated in the G7 meeting.
Kallas emphasised that the EU Foreign Affairs Council, scheduled for next Monday, would provide the opportunity to address the matter and study a coordinated response from the community bloc.
Source: Google News PT