BRUSSELS — Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said Iran was “very likely” behind recent cyberattacks that raised temperatures in refrigerator and freezer units at dozens of European shops, while Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said there was insufficient evidence to make an official attribution.
“There was enough evidence from our security services for me to say that Iran is very likely behind the cyberattacks we have seen targeting our shops,” Quintin told Belgian broadcaster VRT NWS on Thursday evening. Quintin had made similar remarks earlier in the day, but Prévot struck a more cautious tone in a statement.
“The information currently available to us is insufficient to officially hold Iran responsible,” Prévot said. He added that any official attribution of a cyberattack to a foreign actor must be handled through the Foreign Ministry, and that Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office was still investigating the matter.
The attack earlier this month raised temperatures in refrigerator and freezer units at dozens of stores. French officials on Monday accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guards of responsibility for similar attacks last month, saying there would be consequences for Iran. Iran has routinely denied carrying out malicious cyber operations.