Another Hacker Group Attacks World’s Biggest Steak Supplier JBS

(Chaz Anon) It appears that our food supply is under attack. It is being reported that farmers are being told by the federal government to destroy their crops or face losing federal subsidies and now an alleged cyberattack on JBS SA, the largest meat producer globally, has forced the shutdown of some of world’s largest slaughterhouses. We are looking at probable food shortages in the near future. Who benefits?

JBS’s five biggest beef plants in the U.S. – which altogether handle 22,500 cattle a day – have halted processing following a weekend attack on the company’s computer networks, according to JBS posts on Facebook, labor unions and employees. Those outages alone have wiped out nearly a fifth of America’s production. Slaughter operations across Australia were also down, according to a trade group. One of Canada’s largest beef plants was idled for a second day. It’s unclear exactly how many plants globally have been affected by the attack as JBS has yet to release details that granular.

It would not be surprising if more shutdowns occurred around the world, with these mysterious hackers increasingly targeting critical infrastructure. JBS suspended its North American and Australian computer systems after an organized assault on Sunday on some of its servers, the Brazilian meat giant said Monday in an emailed statement.

“Retailers and beef processors are coming from a long weekend and need to catch up with orders,” Steiner Consulting Group said in its Daily Livestock Report. “If 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.”

The Biden administration and JBS are blaming the alleged cyberattack on a criminal organization likely based in Russia, White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday. But many people are suspicious about the true origins of these hacker groups

Any substantial disruption in meat processing would further stoke mounting political concerns about the concentration of the meat industry and complaints of the four giant companies that control more than 80% of U.S. beef processing unfairly leverage their power over farmers and consumers.

Cattle producers were already seething over a surge in retail prices for hamburger and steaks while the prices processors pay for livestock barely budge. Congress has been examining legislation to address cattle markets and rural lawmakers recently pressed the Justice Department for action on an anti-trust investigation of the beef industry launched last year.

JBS is the No. 1 beef producer in the U.S., accounting for 23% of the nation’s maximum capacity compared to rival Tyson Foods Inc.’s 22% share, according to an investor report by Tyson.

JBS closed beef processing facilities in Utah, Texas, Wisconsin and Nebraska and canceled shifts at plants in Iowa and Colorado on Tuesday, according to union officials and employees. Union Facebook posts also said some kill and fabrication shifts in the U.S. have also been canceled.

Pork and chicken facilities across the nation including one in Minnesota were also closed by the owner of Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., the second-biggest U.S. chicken producer, according to union officials and employees. At least five of the six U.S. pork facilities were cutting back on operations Tuesday, according to Facebook posts from the plants.

“There are at least 10 plants I have knowledge of that have had operations suspended because of the cyberattack,” said Paula Schelling-Soldner, acting chairperson for the national council of locals representing food inspectors for the American Federation of Government Employees. She declined to identify the locations of the operations.

Hackers now have the commodities industry in their crosshairs with the JBS attack coming just three weeks after Colonial Pipeline Co., operator of the biggest U.S. gasoline pipeline, was targeted in a ransomware attack. It also happened as the global meat industry battles lingering Covid-19 absenteeism after recovering from mass outbreaks last year that saw plants shut and supplies disrupted.

“While JBS has not confirmed that this is a ransomware attack it has all of the hallmarks of one,” said Allan Liska, senior security architect at cybersecurity analytics firm Recorded Future, who said that there has been more than 40 publicly reported ransomware attacks against food companies since May 2020. “The actual number is probably higher.”