JBS cyber attack updates – Russia ‘likely behind’ massive hack on world’s biggest meat supplier, White House says

RUSSIA is “likely” behind a huge cyberattack on the world’s biggest meat supplier, according to the White House.

JBS USA said in a statement from Greeley, Colorado, it was the target of an “organized cybersecurity attack” affecting some of its servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems.

“The company’s backup servers were not affected and it is actively working with an Incident Response firm to restore its systems as soon as possible,” the statement said.

White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the ransom demand originated from “a criminal organization likely based in Russia”.

She added that the US has contacted Russia about the matter and the FBI is investigating.

The hack had an immediate impact, with the five biggest beef plants in the US – which process 22,500 cattle daily – suspending livestock slaughter.

Those outages alone have wiped out nearly a fifth of America’s production.

And operations across Australia – which exports up to 75 per cent of its red meat products – are at a standstill, meaning there is a risk to worldwide supplies.

Staff learned of the attack when they were turned away from their workplaces on Monday.