All JBS Foods beef plants in the United States have been shut down after a recent cyberattack, according to Bloomberg.
The weekend cyberattack shut down some of JBS Foods’ largest U.S. and Canadian meat plants, but now all U.S. plants have been closed, Bloomberg reported. The Biden White House says Russian-based hackers are behind the attack.
JBS said most of its U.S. plants will be operational Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.
The attack caused JBS’ Australian operations to be shut down Monday, according to Reuters. On Tuesday, work shifts were canceled at several North American plants.
“On Sunday, May 30, JBS USA determined that it was the target of an organized cybersecurity attack, affecting some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems,” the company said Monday.
Based in Brazil, JBS SA notified the U.S. of a ransom demand from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed Tuesday. She said the White House and the Department of Agriculture have been in touch with the company several times this week.
JBS has extensive facilities in the U.S., including processing plants in Texas and Colorado. Two shifts were canceled Tuesday at JBS’ meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, according to UFCW Local 7, which represents 3,000 workers at the plant.
The local union also has reports from workers that production was down Monday but that is unconfirmed, according to spokesman Dakar Lanzino.
JBS closed meat processing facilities in Utah, Texas, Wisconsin and Nebraska and canceled shifts at plants in Iowa and Colorado on Tuesday, Bloomberg said.
JBS has not stated publicly that the attack was ransomware.
Jean-Pierre said the White House “is engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter and delivering the message that responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals.” The FBI is investigating the incident, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is offering technical support to JBS.
Update on JBS situation in Michigan. ⬇️ https://t.co/apNhfp5T22
— U.S. Cattlemen's Association (@uscattlemen) May 31, 2021
In addition, the USDA has spoken to several major meat processors in the U.S. to alert them to the situation, and the White House is assessing any potential impact on the nation’s meat supply.
Thousands of Australian meat plant workers had no work for a second day Tuesday, and a government minister said it might be days before production resumes. JBS is Australia’s largest meat and food processing company, with 47 facilities across the country including abattoirs, feedlots and meat processing sites. JBS employs about 11,000 people in Australia.
It’s not the first time a ransomware attack has targeted a food company. In November, Milan-based Campari Group said it was the victim of a ransomware attack that caused a temporary technology outage and compromised some business and personal data.
In March, Molson Coors announced a cyberattack that affected its production and shipping.
The attack comes less than a month after a devastating cyberattack hit Georgia-based Colonial Pipeline, one of the Southeast’s major fuel providers. The hackers didn’t take control of pipeline operations, but the Alpharetta-based company shut it down to prevent malware from affecting industrial control systems.
President Joe Biden later said the attack was the work of Russian-based hackers, though he added the U.S. does not believe the Russian government was responsible. Colonial Pipeline paid $4.4 million to the hackers.
JBS controls about 20% of the slaughtering capacity for U.S. cattle and hogs, according to Bloomberg, and is the nation’s No. 1. beef producer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
