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<\/p>\ncybersecurity
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5 of America’s largest meat plants shuttered following JBS cyberattack
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JBS Foods, the world\u2019s largest meat supplier, said it has made \u201csignificant progress in resolving the “cyberattack\u201d that shutdown all of its US beef plants on Tuesday, easing fears of further meat price increases.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The \u201cvast majority\u201d of the company\u2019s plants are expected to reopen on Wednesday, JBS USA CEO Andre Nogueira said in a statement Tuesday evening. <\/p>\n
But even one day\u2019s disruption could affect wholesale beef prices, analysts warned. <\/p>\n
JBS, which controls about 20 percent of the slaughtering capacity for cattle and hogs in the US, had halted cattle slaughter at all its US plants on Tuesday, union officials said. Operations in Australia and Canada were also affected, according to union officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cJBS USA and Pilgrim’s are a critical part of the food supply chain and we recognize our responsibility to our team members, producers and consumers to resume operations as soon as possible,\u201d Nogueira said. \u201cOur systems are coming back online and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
It remains unclear who orchestrated the hacking of JBS, but Karine Jean-Pierre, a White House deputy press secretary, told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday that it was a ransomware attack. <\/p>\n
She added that the ransom demand had come from \u201ca criminal organization likely based in Russia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ransomware is a malicious software that locks up a user\u2019s data. In ransomware attacks, the hackers demand a ransom for the unlocking or return of the affected data.<\/p>\n
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It’s the second such attack to strike a piece of critical US infrastructure in recent weeks. Last month, the operator of the biggest US oil pipeline was similarly paralyzed by a cyberattack orchestrated by the Russia-based criminal group DarkSide. That attack had a sweeping effect on Americans, sending gas prices soaring and spurring panic buying across the Southeast.<\/p>\n
The FBI is investigating the hack, the White House\u2019s Jean-Pierre said, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is also involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe president has directed the administration to determine what we can do to mitigate any impacts as they may become necessary,\u201d she said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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Analysts at Daily Livestock Report noted Tuesday that the meat supply chain in the US is already \u201cextremely tight.\u201d US prices of beef and chicken have soared in recent months amid shortages and surging demand as the restaurants and the broader economy reopen.<\/p>\n
\u201cRetailers and beef processors are coming from a long weekend and need to catch up with orders and make sure to fill the meat case,\u201d the analysts wrote in a report. \u201cIf they suddenly get a call saying that product may not deliver tomorrow or this week, it will create very significant challenges in keeping plants in operation and the retail case stocked up.\u201d<\/p>\n
If JBS operations can\u2019t quickly bounce back, the analysts warned, it \u201ccould add gasoline to an already large flame.\u201d<\/p>\n