JBS beef, pork, poultry production back online after cyber-attack temporarily paralyzes operations

02 Jun 2021 --- JBS, the world's largest meatpacker, says the vast majority of its beef, pork, poultry and prepared foods plants will be operational today following a cyber attack on the company. 

In their latest statement, JBS USA and subsidiary Pilgrim’s Pride announced “significant progress” in resolving the cyber-attack that has impacted the company’s operations in North America and Australia.

Operations in Mexico and the UK were not impacted and are conducting business as usual.

“JBS USA and Pilgrim’s are a critical part of the food supply chain, and we recognize our responsibility to our team members, producers and consumers to resume operations as soon as possible,” says Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS.

“Our systems are coming back online, and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat. We have cybersecurity plans in place to address these types of issues, and we are successfully executing those plans.”

JBS says its systems are coming back online, and it is not sparing any resources to fight this threat.IT fights back 
The cyber-attack had paralyzed the company’s computer network from Sunday when hackers first blocked the Brazilian meat giant. 

This immediately sparked concerns over the supply chain and the threat of rising prices. The cyber-attack comes at a crunch time when US consumers are preparing for the grilling season and while there is strong demand from China. 

Production at approximately 30 JBS meat processing plants was suspended while the company’s IT experts worked around the clock to resolve the cyber attack. 

JBS said that its backup servers were not affected by the attack and that its technicians were still working to restore the systems. 

Yesterday, JBS USA and Pilgrim’s were able to ship products from almost all its facilities to supply customers. 

Resuming work
The company also continues to make progress in resuming plant operations in the US and Australia. Several of the company’s pork, poultry and prepared foods plants were operational as of late yesterday, as was its Canada beef facility.

JBS USA says it has received strong support from the US, Australian and Canadian governments, conducting daily calls with officials to safeguard the food supply.

“I want to personally thank the White House, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Department of Agriculture, and the Australian and Canadian governments for their assistance over the last two days,” Nogueira adds.

The company is not aware of any evidence at this time that any customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised.

The JBS cyber-attack is the latest in a wave of ransomware attacks designed to freeze US businesses and impact critical supply chains and operations.

Last month, one of the most significant US pipelines was affected by a ransomware attack that left it partially inoperative for several hours. The Colonial Pipeline, which transports gas to around half of the US East Coast, led to gas and jet-fuel shortages and temporary panic buying.

By Gaynor Selby