Belgium says supermarket cyberattacks may have Iranian links

Possible Iranian links

Interior and Security Minister Bernard Quintin said Thursday that Belgian security services had identified possible links between Iranian-linked hacker groups and recent cyberattacks. The attacks targeted refrigeration systems at supermarkets and retailers across the country.

Authorities were examining indications that actors associated with Iran may have been involved in the incidents, Quintin told Belgian news agency Belga. “In Belgium too, the security services speak of indications of possible links to known Iranian actors. The federal prosecutor’s office is investigating these indications further,” he said.

Security response

Quintin also said, “We take these cyberattacks extremely seriously and are deploying all the resources needed to assess the threat.” The resources were being deployed to assess the threat.

Belgian authorities were examining the indications. The federal prosecutor’s office was investigating them further.

Disrupted cooling systems

Earlier this month, cyberattacks disrupted cooling equipment at several Belgian supermarkets and retail outlets. Businesses were forced to discard food products worth tens of thousands of euros.

Similar incidents were reported in France in October. The Paris prosecutor’s office said Monday that hacker groups were linked to Iran.