France has called the Iranian ambassador for a meeting after officials publicly accused Iran of being behind a wave of cyberattacks that knocked out commercial refrigerators and freezers.
The hacks hit hundreds of French supermarkets in October, setting temperatures high enough to rot fresh food and melt frozen products, with some refrigerators catching fire due to the extreme heat.
Iran has been conducting cyberattacks ever since the beginning of the conflict with the US.
Notably, in March, transit systems in Los Angeles were hacked; in July, water treatment plants were attacked; and in August, ships bound for the US were targeted. Also in August, allegedly Iran did a similar attack against refrigerators in six US military commissaries.
This recent wave is the first to target a European country heavily and has been among the most disruptive attacks since the start of the conflict in February. It involved 700 commercial sites, including supermarkets, butcher stores, slaughterhouses and food-processing factories.
Paris and Teheran have had a deteriorating relationship for years, despite France distancing itself from US attacks on Iran, due to, among other things, France’s support of civil society in Iran.
Before meeting with Iran’s ambassador to France, Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot told French television that Paris is ready to respond with its own cyber measures and possible new EU-backed sanctions, citing France’s cyber-defence doctrine, which gives the state a range of options.
French officials issued a report on Monday accusing a cyber offensive unit linked to Teheran’s Revolutionary Guards of being behind the hacks. The unit is called Shahid Kaveh, and according to the same report, three associates have been identified: Hamid Reza Lashgarian, Mahdi Lashgarian and Reza Salarvand. They worked using front groups of vigilante hackers, according to French officials. French prosecutors sent out international arrest warrants for the three men.
