French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot has blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) for cyberattacks on French supermarket refrigeration units last month. The attacks occurred overnight on October 11-12 and affected approximately 700 of France's roughly 10,000 supermarkets, spoiling produce and in some cases causing refrigeration units to catch fire.
Barrot described the attack as "unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression." He said France would implement sanctions at the European level against those responsible. A Paris prosecutor identified the Iranian group Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC's Electronic and Cyber Center, as the source and opened a judicial investigation against its head, two deputies, and any other individuals who may be identified.
Similar security breaches have affected supermarkets in other European countries and the United States. Authorities also reported a failed attempt to hack cooling units at French blood banks. It was not clear if these other incidents were connected to the October attack, according to the report.