JBS SAYS MOST OF ITS MEAT PLANTS OPERATING AFTER CYBERATTACK

A ransomware attack on the world’s largest meat processing company, JBS, disrupted production around the world just weeks after a similar incident shut down a US oil pipeline, Rod McGuirk and Dee-Ann Durbin reported for Associated Press (AP).

Brazil’s JBS SA, however, said late Tuesday that it had made “significant progress” in dealing with the cyberattack and expects the “vast majority” of its plants to be operating on Wednesday.

“Our systems are coming back online and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat,” Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA, said in a statement. Earlier, the White House said JBS had notified the US of a ransom demand from a criminal organization likely based in Russia.

White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House and the Department of Agriculture have been in touch with the company several times this week.

JBS is the second-largest producer of beef, pork, and chicken in the US. If it were to shut down for even one day, the US would lose almost a quarter of its beef-processing capacity, or the equivalent of 20,000 beef cows, according to Trey Malone, an assistant professor of agriculture at Michigan State University.

The closures reflect the reality that modern meat processing plants are heavily automated, for both food and worker safety reasons. Computers collect data at multiple stages of the production process, and orders, billing, shipping and other functions are all electronic.

White House principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the White House and the Department of Agriculture have been in touch with the company several times this week.

JBS is the second-largest producer of beef, pork, and chicken in the US. If it were to shut down for even one day, the US would lose almost a quarter of its beef-processing capacity, or the equivalent of 20,000 beef cows, according to Trey Malone, an assistant professor of agriculture at Michigan State University.

The closures reflect the reality that modern meat processing plants are heavily automated, for both food and worker safety reasons. Computers collect data at multiple stages of the production process, and orders, billing, shipping and other functions are all electronic.

WEEKLY FEATURE : TRUEMONEY PHILIPPINES BUCKS THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE