France summons Iran envoy over cyberattack on supermarket refrigerators, warns of retaliation

French officials on Monday accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of orchestrating the attacks

France summoned Iran's ambassador on Tuesday over an alleged cyberattack that disrupted refrigeration systems in hundreds of supermarkets across the country, with foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot warning that Paris could retaliate with cyber measures of its own.

The ⁠supermarket hacks, which struck hundreds of stores in early October, were among the most disruptive cyberattacks since the Iran war began in February, (Representational image/AFP)

French officials on Monday accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of orchestrating the attacks, which affected commercial refrigeration systems across France in October, according to Reuters.

The French foreign ministry reportedly said the Iranian ambassador, whose summoning had been announced a day earlier by Barrot, was called in on Tuesday morning.

Speaking to France Info television, as cited by Reuters, Barrot called the incident an "attack of unprecedented scale and aggression" on French soil and said Paris would push for EU sanctions against Tehran in response.

"We will take whatever measures are necessary, including some that we will not discuss publicly, if we judge them proportionate and necessary to deter any new attacks and punish those responsible for this unacceptable aggression," Barrot said and added France's cyberdefence doctrine provided authorities with a range of options.

According to AFP, the cyberattacks targeted 700 sites, with hackers gaining control of cooling systems through web interfaces to trigger "abnormal, indefinite defrost cycles". They also disabled sensor alerts designed to warn operators when temperatures crossed a specified threshold.

Similar incidents have since been reported in other European countries.

On November 2, stores in at least nine other European countries were hit by a suspected cyberattack on their freezer systems.

Relations between Paris and Tehran have been strained for years over Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, its regional activities and the detention of several French nationals. Tensions have also been fuelled by French allegations that Iran has spread misinformation linked to protests that have rocked France over the past month.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not return messages seeking comment on Monday, said Reuters.

A cyber unit linked to IRGC behind the cyberattacks?

Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said on Monday that an investigation had been opened into Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), over the attacks, according to AFP. Her office has also sought international arrest warrants against two officials associated with the unit.

Beccuau described Shahid Kaveh as "an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the Electronic and Cyber Centre of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-CEC)".

France's Centre for Coordination of Cyber Crises, which brings together security agencies, including intelligence services, said the unit conducts large-scale campaigns targeting industrial equipment for sabotage. Its operations are directed primarily against Israel and the United States, but also target France and other European countries, the centre said.

(With Reuters and AFP inputs)