Cyber Attack Hits JBS Global Meat Processing Operations 

JBS USA, the world’s largest meat supplier, released a statement Sunday evening, saying it was the target of an “organized cybersecurity attack.” 

JBS, which has North America headquarters in Greeley, Colorado, said the cyber attack “affected some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems.” 

“The company took immediate action, suspending all affected systems, notifying authorities and activating the company’s global network of IT professionals and third-party experts to resolve the situation,” the statement continued. “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.”

Industry website Beef Central said the attack already impacted two shifts and halted processing at one of Canada’s largest meatpacking plants. Operations at all beef and lamb slaughterhouses in Australia ground to a halt, and some slaughtering and fabrication shifts have also been canceled in the U.S. 

It’s still unknown how the attack might impact consumers or if a meat shortage would be sparked. There is still no word on a timeline of when the JBS’ systems will be completely restored. 

Earlier in the month, hackers attacked the biggest U.S. gasoline pipeline operator, crippling East Coast energy infrastructure, which resulted in disrupted fuel flows, sending gasoline prices at the pump to multi-year highs. News of the hack led to panic hoarding by concerned folks. 

This one-two punch of hacking incidents in the commodity industry shows that nothing is safe. 

*This is an ongoing situation, and more updates will follow.