From the Guardian · · 1m 50s
France blames Iran for supermarket freezer attacks
Paris says Iranian Revolutionary Guards hacked thousands of fridges across Europe, forcing stores to dump tons of food and triggering investigations and sanctions threats.
In brief
Paris says Iranian Revolutionary Guards hacked thousands of fridges across Europe, forcing stores to dump tons of food and triggering investigations and sanctions threats. France has attributed a massive cyber-attack on supermarket freezers to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, with the foreign minister vowing European…
Iran blamed for freezer hacks
France's foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Iran's Revolutionary Guards were responsible for cyber-attacks on supermarket freezers described as unprecedented in scale and aggression.
“the Islamic Republic of Iran's Revolutionary Guards are responsible for this attack”
Thousands of freezers hit in October
On October eleventh and twelfth, hackers remotely overrode temperature settings on thousands of freezers and chiller cabinets in as many as seven hundred supermarkets across France.
Temperatures pushed to fifty degrees
Hackers pushed freezer temperatures from as low as minus twenty-seven degrees Celsius to well over fifty degrees Celsius in some cases, forcing stores to dump thousands of tons of food.
Shahid Kaveh identified as culprit
Paris public prosecutor Laure Beccuau said investigators identified the Iranian cyber warfare unit Shahid Kaveh, linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, using Farsi and Iranian IP addresses.
Attacks spread across Europe
Similar incidents have been reported since, including on supermarket fridges in other European countries last week and on a French blood bank, with retailers in eleven European countries reporting problems.
Sanctions and investigation launched
Jean-Noël Barrot vowed Europe-wide sanctions against those responsible. The Paris prosecutor opened an investigation against Shahid Kaveh's head, deputies and others on charges of fraudulent attacks and organised crime.
EU prepares response to attribution
Kaja Kallas, head of foreign affairs for the EU, said the foreign affairs council would discuss the attacks next Monday and that attribution to Iran calls for a strong European response.
The big picture
France has attributed a massive cyber-attack on supermarket freezers to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, with the foreign minister vowing European sanctions over what he called an act of unprecedented aggression.
