In Brazil, leading meat producer closing in on full return after gang cyberattack

DETROIT — The world’s largest meat processing company has resumed most production after a weekend cyberattack, but experts say the vulnerabilities exposed by this attack and others are far from resolved.

In a statement late Wednesday, the FBI attributed the attack on Brazil-based meat processor JBS SA to REvil, also known as Sodinokibi, a Russian-speaking gang that has made some of the largest ransomware demands on record in recent months. The FBI said it will work to bring the group to justice and it urged anyone who is the victim of a cyberattack to contact the bureau immediately.

REvil has not posted anything related to the hack on its dark web site. But that’s not unusual. Ransomware syndicates as a rule don’t post about attacks when they are in initial negotiations with victims — or if the victims have paid a ransom.

In October, a REvil representative who goes by the handle “UNKN” said in an interview published online that the agriculture sector would now be a main target for the syndicate. REvil also threatened to auction off sensitive stolen data from victims who refused to pay it.

The attack targeted servers supporting JBS operations in North America and Australia. Backup servers weren’t affected, and the company said it was not aware of any customer, supplier or employee data being compromised.

JBS said late Tuesday it had made “significant progress” and expected the “vast majority” of its plants to be operating Wednesday.

It is not known if JBS paid a ransom. The company hasn’t discussed it in public statements and did not respond to phone and email messages Wednesday seeking comment.

The FBI and the White House declined to comment on the ransom. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday the U.S. is considering all options in dealing with the attack.

“I can assure you that we are raising this through the highest levels of the U.S. government,” she said.

Ransomware expert Allan Liska of the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future said JBS was the largest food manufacturer yet to be attacked. But he said at least 40 food companies have been targeted by hackers over the last year, including brewer Molson Coors and E & J Gallo Winery.