Meatpacking Giant JBS Pays $11 Million To Ransomware Hackers
06/10/21 AT 1:01 AM
JBS, one of the world s biggest meat processors, has paid bitcoin worth $11 million in ransom to hackers to prevent any further disruption after a paralyzing cyberattack believed to have originated in Russia.
Hackers targeted the computer systems of Brazil-based JBS last week, impacting production and operations in the United States, Australia and Canada, and issued a ransom demand to the global meatpacking giant.
The company s US subsidiary said Wednesday it had paid the equivalent of $11 million to the attackers. This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally, said Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA.
The JBS cyber attack caused only a hiccup in meatpacking operations. But for legislators, the security scare was a sign that it might be time to break up the industry.
An American subsidiary of Brazilian meat processor JBS told the US government that it has received a ransom demand in a cyberattack it believes originated in Russia, forcing some plants to cut production.