Belgium has found indications that Iranian-linked hacker groups may be behind recent cyberattacks on refrigeration systems used by supermarkets and other retailers, Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said on Thursday.
The attacks in early November disrupted cooling systems at several Belgian supermarkets and shops. As a result, many businesses were forced to throw away food worth tens of thousands of euros.
France faced similar incidents in October, and the Paris prosecutor said on Monday that hacker groups linked to Iran were responsible for those attacks.
Quintin said Belgium’s security services had also identified signs pointing in that direction. “In Belgium too, the security services have reported indications suggesting possible links with known Iranian actors,” he said.
He added that the federal prosecutor’s office was examining those leads more closely. “We take these cyberattacks very seriously and are deploying all necessary resources to assess the threat,” Quintin said.
“There is no reason to panic, but we remain particularly vigilant,” he added.
