OMM Newsroom
The European Union is ready to deliver a “swift and united response” to cyberattacks that disrupted refrigeration systems at hundreds of supermarkets in France, the European Commission said Tuesday, according to Anadolu Agency.
“We, as the European Union, stand ready to come with a swift and united response,” Commission spokesperson Anouar El Anouni told reporters at a midday briefing in Brussels.
France has attributed the attacks to Iran, and the issue is expected to be discussed at next week’s meeting of EU foreign ministers. El Anouni said the bloc acknowledged France’s attribution and stood in full solidarity with the country.
He said the EU would address malicious cyber activities using all available instruments, including its cyber diplomacy toolbox and sanctions.
The EU adopted restrictive measures in March against an Iranian entity under its cyber sanctions regime over activities targeting several member states, notably Sweden and France. “We are working on more cyber sanctions,” El Anouni said.
Earlier Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris was weighing all options, including measures beyond diplomatic action and EU sanctions, over the suspected involvement of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps unit in the cyberattack.
The attack targeted around 700 supermarket sites overnight on Oct. 11, according to French authorities.
Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into the head of the Iranian Shahid Kaveh group, a cyber-offensive unit affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Electronic and Cyber Center, as well as two of its deputy leaders and other unidentified individuals.
The prosecutor’s office has also requested international arrest warrants in the case.
