Iran May Have Acted as Proxy in French Supermarket Cyberattack
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
A cyberattack on 700 French supermarkets, destroying tons of food, has been linked to Iran. A senior Check Point official suggested Iran might have acted as a proxy for Russian entities, exploiting remote system vulnerabilities. While Iran could have acted independently to destabilize the West, the possibility of it being hired by Russia is also considered significant. This follows a similar, thwarted Iranian cyber attempt in Israel.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- A cyberattack on 700 French supermarkets destroyed tens of tons of food.
- Iran is suspected of carrying out the cyberattack on the supermarkets' cooling systems.
- A senior Check Point official suggested Iran may have acted on behalf of Russia.
- The attack exploited vulnerabilities in internet-connected remote management systems.
- A similar Iranian cyber attempt targeting Israeli water infrastructure was previously thwarted.
A cyberattack that targeted the cooling systems of 700 supermarkets across France, leading to the destruction of tens of tons of food, has been attributed to Iran. A senior official at the cybersecurity firm Check Point suggested that Iran might have been acting on behalf of Russian entities.
The attack significantly impacted food supplies, with Masing, a senior official at Check Point, stating, "This is not a story about chocolate milk, we are talking about 700 supermarkets across the country and tens of tons of food thrown in the trash. And the effect of this undermines the residents, it is a blow to food."
Masing explained that the attackers exploited the internet connectivity of remote management systems, a vulnerability amplified by digital advancements. "If in the past one had to physically reach the location, now it is done remotely from the same system. The digital development that makes life easier for the world is what sometimes allows control of these things even from a phone," he said.
Regarding Iran's potential motives, Masing presented two possibilities. "One option is that Iran did this on its own, out of a desire to destabilize the West." However, he also raised the significant possibility that "Iran is acting on behalf of someone else, in cyber, this is very common." He elaborated that "the suspicion in a major Western European attack is on Russian players. They hire the services of certain units that operate from another country, and it carries out the attack on their behalf."
Masing noted that typically, politically motivated attacks involve the perpetrator claiming responsibility to exert low-level warfare. He also referenced a past attempted attack in Israel involving Iranian actors attempting to control chlorine levels in a water reservoir in the Sharon region, which was thwarted in time. He explained that such attacks can have physical consequences by manipulating critical infrastructure like temperature, pressure, or chemical levels.
