JBS Foods suffers a massive cyberattack

The largest meat supplier in the world has reportedly been a victim of an organized cyberattack

Cybercriminals targetted the largest global supplier of pork and beef

On Sunday, May 30, 2021, the IT systems of JBS have been attacked by cybercriminals. The company immediately released a statement,^[1] claiming that there's no evidence that employee, supplier, and customer data was compromised or stolen. But the hack will result in transaction delays with customers and suppliers.

The company's representatives said that the backup servers were not affected and that the company is actively working on getting all systems back on track immediately. In the released statement, the company noted:

The company took immediate action, suspending all affected systems, notifying authorities and activating the company's global network of IT professionals and third-party experts to resolve the situation.

The company which headquarters are in Brazil has reported that the incident has affected not only facilities in North America (the USA and Canada) but also in Australia.

The purpose of the hack was not disclosed

In the short statement released by JBS Foods, there was no information about the attack apart from it happening. According to sources,^[2] due to some peculiarities of the incident, it might involve ransomware. This hazardous computer infection encrypts files on targetted systems and demands large amounts of money be transferred in cryptocurrency Bitcoin in order to regain access to the locked data.

If that's true, it will be the second major cyberattack on large companies within a month, as on May 7, 2021, a similar attack has crippled the most extensive pipeline system in the US (Colonial Pipeline), resulting in a gas shortage and sending people into panic-buy mode. Cybercriminals have managed to racketeer $5 million out of the company for the decryption software.

Ransomware attacks could be devastating and have various consequences. The companies are always advised not to succumb to the assailants' demands as that doesn't guarantee that the necessary tool will be delivered. Cybercriminals could use the victim money to issue more attacks and develop more advanced malware.

Due to the hack, Australian facilities were shut down

JBS Foods owns 47 production facilities in various Australian states, and all of them were shut down due to the inability to access IT and internet systems. It's not yet known how long will the facilities be inoperational, but residents of Australia won't feel any meat shortage. JBS might operate the largest network of facilities and feedlots, but it's not the only one.

Federal Agriculture Minister of Australia, David Littleproud, has stated^[3] that the government was informed about the hack and it's helping the company to get its operations back online. The shutdown will affect 6,687 of the company's employees and the supply chain because cattle cannot be processed.

Canadian beef plant in Brooks, Alberta, which processes about 4,200 head of cattle a day, was also reportedly closed. It depends on how long the company's system will be offline, but it will indeed affect its exports. JBS is the largest meat processing company in the world,^[4] with more than 150 industrial plants over the world and serving customers in 190 countries on six continents.

It was founded in 1953 in Brazil and employed around 250,000 people in 15 different countries. It processes beef, poetry, pork, and its by-products. The company's most notable food brands are:^[5]

• Primo
• Moy park
• Pilgrim's
• Great Southern
• Just Bare
• Swift