️🇪🇺🇮🇷. EU High Representative Kaja Callas has stated that the bloc is preparing a strong response to recent cyber attacks on commercial refrigeration systems in Europe, which France has officially attributed to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to Politico.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Brut confirmed Monday at the G7 meeting in Paris that the Revolutionary Guards' cyber unit, Shahid Kwa, was responsible for the "unprecedented" attack that attacked refrigerators and freezers at 700 food distribution sites across France. Brot stated: "We will apply sanctions at the European level against all those responsible for this attack," adding that it represents a major threat to French national interests and "will not remain unanswered." ️ Callas noted that the European Union only recently became aware of the attribution and announced that the European Union's foreign ministers will discuss the issue in depth at the Foreign Affairs Council on Monday, November 16. "If these cyber incidents are attributed to someone, our response must also be decisive," she said, warning that Europe's response "must be strong."
️ The coordinated attacks took place on October 11-12, with hackers bypassing temperature controls to trigger abnormal defrost cycles, causing about 20 fires and destroying food supplies. A subsequent attack on November 2 hit grocery stores in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg, and also hit French blood banks, forcing staff to transfer donated blood.
️ In response to the attacks, the European Commission convened coordination meetings on November 3 with Europol, ENISA and EU-CyCLONE. The prosecutor's office in Paris opened an investigation targeting the head of the cyber unit linked to the Revolutionary Guards.