Iran's Revolutionary Guards Behind Cyber Attacks on Cooling Systems in France
France holds Iranian Revolutionary Guards responsible for cyber attacks on 700 cooling facilities. Paris announces EU sanctions.
France Accuses Iran: Cyber Attacks on Hundreds of Cooling Facilities
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards are responsible for large-scale cyber attacks on cooling facilities in France, according to the assessment of the French government. As reported by Kleine Zeitung, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot stated on Monday in Paris: "It is the first large-scale cyber attack for sabotage purposes on national territory."
The attacks occurred on two days in October and affected a total of 700 locations in France. Barrot announced that sanctions would be imposed against all those responsible at the European level. Additionally, "all further proportionate and necessary measures" are planned to deter possible copycat attacks. The Iranian ambassador is to be summoned; the judiciary has already been engaged.
The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office requested international arrest warrants against the leader of the cyber unit Shahid Kaweh as well as his two deputies. The unit belongs to the Revolutionary Guards. Investigators cited the characteristic working methods typical of Shahid Kaweh, the use of Persian, and IP addresses pointing to devices in Iran as evidence.
In the attack on 11 October, temperature regulators were disabled in hundreds of facilities. In some cases, temperatures rose so high that equipment caught fire. Supermarket employees disposed of spoiled meat and melted ice by the crate. A French supermarket operator estimated the nationwide total costs at a two-figure million amount.
In the same month, a second wave of attacks followed, affecting more than 100 facilities across Europe — including cooling systems at French blood banks. Employees had to relocate part of the blood supplies to other cooling units.
The European incidents were preceded by at least a similar attack in the USA. In August, cooling systems failed in at least six supermarkets on US military bases. Pentagon investigators are treating the outages as a suspected cyber attack and are cooperating with French authorities, as news agency Reuters previously reported. The Pentagon suspects Iran, Reuters quoted a person familiar with the matter; however, the investigation is not yet complete. The US Department of Defence stated on Monday that it was aware of "speculation about a possible cyber incident", but could not provide further information for security reasons.
The attacks are part of a series of suspected cyber disruptions recorded since February in the context of an ongoing conflict with Iran — including disruptions to public transport in Los Angeles in March, of US water treatment facilities in July, and of ships heading to the USA in August. Iran regularly denies allegations that it carries out cyber attacks.
Source: Kleine Zeitung