Meat is latest cyber victim as hackers hit top supplier JBS

The world’s biggest meat supplier has become the latest casualty of a cybersecurity attack, posing a fresh threat to global food security already rattled by the pandemic.

JBS shut its North American and Australian computer networks after an organized assault on Sunday on some of its servers, the company said by email. Without commenting on operations at its plants, JBS said the incident may delay certain transactions with customers and suppliers.

The attack sidelined two shifts and halted processing at one of Canada’s largest meatpacking plants, while the company cancelled all beef and lamb kills across Australia, industry website Beef Central said. Some kill and fabrication shifts have also been canceled in the US, according to a union Facebook post.

JBS has made “significant progress” to resolve the cyberattack that impacted operations this week at its meat plants in North America and Australia, the company said on Tuesday.

Hackers now have the commodities industry in their crosshairs with the JBS attack coming just three weeks after the operator of the biggest US gasoline pipeline was targeted. It’s also happened as the global meat industry battles lingering Covid-19 absenteeism after recovering from mass outbreaks last year that saw plants shut and supplies disrupted.

The Canadian beef plant in Brooks, Alberta, accounts for more than a quarter of the nation’s capacity, and according to a job ad, processes about 4,200 head of cattle a day.

Sao Paulo-based JBS owns facilities in 20 countries. Australia and New Zealand account for 4 per cent of the company’s revenue, while the US represents 50 per cent and Canada 3 per cent.