France Accuses Iran of Cyberattack on Supermarket Fridges
By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and AP
Paris says a cyber unit linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was behind hack, which hit more than 1,000 stores.
France has opened an investigation and accused Iran of being behind recent cyberattacks targeting refrigeration units in supermarkets.
French authorities said on Monday that they are probing a cyber unit affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) over the attacks, which caused fires and large amounts of food waste.
Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that the Iranian ambassador had been summoned and that sanctions would be sought against those responsible at a “European level”.
“I can confirm that this attack was carried out by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Barrot said of the cyberattacks on French supermarkets that occurred on October 11 and 12.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said it has requested international arrest warrants against the leader of Shahid Kaveh, an offensive cyber unit affiliated with the IRGC, and his two deputies.
Barrot told reporters that the attack was “unprecedented in its level of aggression”.
“This is the first large-scale cyberattack carried out for sabotage purposes on French soil,” he said. “It represents a major attack on the nation’s interests and on the security of the French people. That is why it will not go unanswered.”
“We will also take any other measures that are proportionate and necessary, whether public or private, to respond to this attack and deter anyone who might seek to repeat it,” Barrot added.
Boxes of spoiled food sit outside an Intermarche supermarket in Paris, France, on October 13, 2026, after a cyberattack targeted supermarket refrigeration systems
Investigators say the attackers used Farsi and IP addresses linked to devices in Iran to carry out the attack, during which they gained internet access to the refrigeration systems and remotely cranked up temperatures to 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) overnight.
Millions of euros’ worth of food was spoiled, according to retailers. In some cases, the raised temperatures sparked fires or melted equipment.
French supermarket groups E-Leclerc, Intermarche, Carrefour, Monoprix and Cooperative U were all hit.
At least 300 of Intermarche’s stores and its Netto brand were affected. Cooperative U said more than 100 of its supermarkets were targeted, while Carrefour said 80 supermarkets were affected, and Monoprix reported that about 5 percent of its roughly 490 stores were hit.
Supermarkets in several other European countries reported similar refrigeration problems on November 2. Overnight temperature spikes were recorded in Belgium, Estonia, Ireland, Luxembourg and Sweden. Dozens of stores and a food distribution hub were hit.
Jody Westby, chief executive of Global Cyber Risk LLC, said tracking down the group directly responsible for the attacks is “very difficult” because of poor cooperation on international cybercrime investigations.
“It’s been a problem for 20 some years, and now it’s a little better, but only marginally so,” Westby told Al Jazeera, adding that it was difficult to track and trace the origin of such attacks “because of the nature of packet switching”.
This is when hackers route their communications through “various places around the world”, making them extremely hard to trace, she said, adding that “Russia, Iran, China and North Korea” are likely “the main culprits”.
