France blames Iran for mass-hacks targeting freezers in grocery stores and blood banks

The French government has formally blamed Iran for launching cyberattacks that targeted thousands of internet-connected industrial refrigerated and freezer units across the country and broader Europe.

This is the latest in a string of destructive cyberattacks attributed to Iran this year, following a spate of hacks targeting U.S. water providers and other online intrusions that caused mass-disruption to U.S. medical device maker giant Stryker and others.

The U.S. government linked the attacks to pro-Iranian hacktivists who are working for Tehran, likely in response to the U.S.-Israel-led war against Iran which killed its supreme leader in February.

Two recent waves of cyberattacks throughout October and into November saw hackers remotely break into web-based controllers that manage fleets of industrial cold and chilling units at grocery stores and retail supermarkets, and raise the temperatures to spoil food and destroy goods. Medical blood banks were also hacked but the attacks were stopped before any blood was spoiled, according to the French Blood Establishment.

Security researchers have since warned that the web-based controllers are vulnerable to remote hacks, with some of the affected models made by Danish company Danfoss no longer receiving security fixes.

In a statement given to reporters in Paris on Monday, French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot said: “I am able to confirm that responsibility for this act lies with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” referring to Iran’s military and hackers.

“This was an attack of unprecedented scale and aggression; it represents the first large-scale act of sabotage on our national territory and constitutes a major assault on the nation’s interests and the security of the French people,” said Barrot, adding that the hacks will “not go without consequences.”

The French government has summoned Iran’s ambassador. Reuters first reported France’s attribution to Iran, citing sources ahead of the foreign minister’s remarks. The French government said it would also issue European-wide sanctions against those who carried out the hacks. Barrot said that the matter was now in the hands of the French justice system.

A spokesperson for Iran’s consulate in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. government is also reportedly looking into whether freezer units on military bases were hacked, following reports of similar outages and disruption earlier this year. U.S. officials have reportedly also linked the freezer-related cyberattack to Iran, but the intelligence community has not yet made a formal or public attribution.

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Zack Whittaker is the security editor at TechCrunch. He also authors the weekly cybersecurity newsletter, this week in security.

He can be reached via encrypted message at zackwhittaker.1337 on Signal. You can also contact him by email, or to verify outreach, at [email protected].