Cyber Attack Forces World's Largest Meat Producer To Close Five U.S. Plants

The world's largest meat producer has been forced to shut down multiple slaughterhouses following a cyber attack over the weekend. JBS USA said the attack targeted "servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems."

Five plants in the United States were closed, along with all of the company's plants in Australia and one in Canada. According to Bloomberg, the closures have wiped about 1/5 of the world's meat supply. The five plants in the U.S. handle roughly 22,500 cattle every day.

JBS said there was no evidence that any customer, supplier, or employee data was taken in the attack.

Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that the ransomware attack came from a criminal organization based in Russia. She said that U.S. officials are in contact with the Russian government about the cyber attack. She added that President Joe Biden directed his administration to work to mitigate any impact the attack may have on the nation's meat supply.

The attack comes just a few weeks after a ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline Company forced it to halt operations of its 5,500-mile network of pipes. The shutdown caused people to stock up on gasoline, causing stations across the Southeast to run out of fuel.

Photo: Getty Images


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