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 on 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 a unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) 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 on Monday.
Paris prosecutors have opened an investigation into the head of the Iranian Shahid Kaveh group, a cyber-offensive unit reportedly affiliated with the IRGC’s Electronic and Cyber Centre, 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.
France weighs tougher cyber-defence measures
Barrot said France's cyber-defence doctrine allows authorities to take a range of actions, without specifying what measures could be considered.
He also highlighted a resilience bill currently under examination in parliament. The legislation would transpose three EU directives into French law and give state authorities additional tools to detect and contain cyberattacks.
Barrot stressed that companies and organisations responsible for critical infrastructure and data also had a duty to strengthen their own defences against cyber threats.
Other attacks remain under investigation
Asked about other recent cyberattacks targeting French facilities, including a bank and the country's public finance administration, Barrot said investigators had yet to identify those responsible.
He said investigations were continuing and that France would determine whether diplomatic measures were necessary once their findings became available.
