France rules 'nothing out' in response to suspected Iran-linked cyberattack

France is considering all possible responses to a cyberattack targeting refrigeration facilities in the country, including measures beyond diplomatic action and European sanctions, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday.

“We will not stop at summoning the ambassador or imposing European sanctions. We rule nothing out,” Barrot told broadcaster Franceinfo.

He said France would examine all possible measures to deter further attacks, referring to an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unit suspected of being behind the cyberattack.

French intelligence services have attributed the attack, which targeted supermarket refrigeration facilities in early October, to the IRGC’s cyber unit, French daily Le Figaro reported Monday.

Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into the head of the Iranian Shahid Kaveh group, a cyber-offensive unit affiliated with the IRGC’s Electronic and Cyber Center, as well as two of its deputy leaders and other unidentified individuals.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has also requested international arrest warrants in the case.