Meat supplier JBS paid the equivalent of $11 million to end ransomware attack

JBS USA Holdings Inc. paid an $11 million ransom to cybercriminals who last week knocked out plants that process roughly one-fifth of the nation’s meat supply.

The ransom payment, in bitcoin, was made to shield JBS meat plants from further disruption.

JBS is the world’s largest meat company by sales, processing beef, poultry, and pork from Australia to South America and Europe.

In the U.S., the company is the biggest beef processor and a top supplier of chicken and pork. Its subsidiary, Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., also hit by the attack, is the second-largest poultry processor, after Tyson Foods Inc.

The payment was made after the majority of JBS plants were up and running again.

Reuters

Meatpacker JBS says it paid equivalent of $11 mln in ransomware attack

Meatpacker JBS USA paid a ransom equivalent to $11 million following a cyberattack that disrupted its North American and Australian operations, the company’s CEO said in a statement on Wednesday.

NBC News

Meat supplier JBS paid ransomware hackers $11 million

The company was hacked in May by a Russian-speaking hacker gang, which led meat plants across the U.S. and Australia to shut down for at least a day.

WSJ

WSJ News Exclusive | JBS Paid $11 Million to Resolve Ransomware Attack

The Brazilian meat supplier?s U.S. chief executive says the company paid cyberattackers to avoid more disruptions and to limit the potential impact on restaurants, grocery stores and farmers that rely on JBS.