France blames Iranian hackers for supermarket attacks that sparked fires

France has linked October cyberattacks that disrupted refrigeration systems at more than 700 supermarkets and other retail locations to Iranian state-backed hackers, saying the attacks caused food losses and sparked at least 15 fires.

In a statement issued Monday, France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs blamed the attacks on Shahid Kaveh, a cyber-offensive unit affiliated with the electronic and cyber center of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

"France condemns in the strongest possible terms the unacceptable cyberattacks carried out on its territory by the Islamic Republic of Iran against its interests," reads the statement.

The attacks occurred overnight on October 11–12, when hackers compromised industrial refrigeration controllers and remotely changed defrost settings to high temperatures, disrupting systems used to preserve food.