JBS Targeted By Cyber Hackers

Over the weekend, one of the world’s largest meatpackers announced it had been hit by a cyber-attack. JBS announced Sunday some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems were targeted. Scott Bennett, director of congressional relations with the American Farm Bureau Federation said the company responded immediately.

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

Bennett said the meatpacking industry could see disruptions, adding company officials say they are not aware of any customer, supplier, or employee data has been compromised or misused. He added situation may affect the supply of beef products domestically and internationally.

“It is concerning whenever we see disruptions in our food supply chain. Certainly, the COVID 19 pandemic showed us that last year," Bennett noted. "We hope the JBS can get up and running as soon as possible. This event has certainly shined a light on how vulnerable even agriculture can be to cybersecurity threats.”

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