SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
At the JBS meat plant in Lins, workers with sharp knives carefully take apart what was once a 1,000-pound steer, making sure to cut along the correct anotomical divisions in the search for the best cuts of beef. (Photo: Juan Forero/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Cyberattack Against Globe's Largest Meat Company Shutters Slaughterhouses, Roils Markets Worldwide
The suspected ransomware attack prevented the USDA from publishing wholesale beef and pork data as well as shutting down slaughterhouses.
Jun 01, 2021
One-fifth of U.S. beef production capacity was reportedly "wiped out" Tuesday and slaughterhouses were shuttered worldwide following a cyberattack on JBS SA, the world's largest meat producer.
The Brazilian company shut down its North American and Australian operations following an attack on its servers, with market experts reporting that more extensive shutdowns across the globe are possible.
"This is quickly escalating into a very serious situation," tweeted Robert Burgess, executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion.
The five biggest beef plants in the U.S. shut down operations, halting the handling of 22,500 cattle. One of Canada's largest meat processing plants was also shut down for the second day in a row.
"There are at least 10 plants I have knowledge of that have had operations suspended because of the cyberattack," Paula Schelling-Soldner, acting chairperson for the national council of locals representing food inspectors for the American Federation of Government Employees, told Bloomberg.
JBS SA did not confirm it had been targeted by a ransomware attack, but the situation "has all of the hallmarks of one," Allan Liska, senior security architect at the cybersecurity analytics firm Recorded Future, told Al Jazeera.
The attack comes three weeks after hackers disrupted the operations of Colonial Pipeline Co., which runs the biggest gasoline pipeline in the United States.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday the Biden administration believes the attack came "from a criminal organization likely based in Russia," and that the White House is offering support to JBS SA and "engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter."
In addition to shutting down meat processing operations, Bloomberg reported, the attack prevented the U.S. Department of Agriculture from releasing wholesale prices for pork and beef, crippling agriculture markets.
"No One Knows How Much U.S. Meat Costs After Cyberattack Jams Report," the outlet's headline read.
"Totally normal and functioning food system," Bloomberg journalist Deena Shanker tweeted sarcastically.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
One-fifth of U.S. beef production capacity was reportedly "wiped out" Tuesday and slaughterhouses were shuttered worldwide following a cyberattack on JBS SA, the world's largest meat producer.
The Brazilian company shut down its North American and Australian operations following an attack on its servers, with market experts reporting that more extensive shutdowns across the globe are possible.
"This is quickly escalating into a very serious situation," tweeted Robert Burgess, executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion.
The five biggest beef plants in the U.S. shut down operations, halting the handling of 22,500 cattle. One of Canada's largest meat processing plants was also shut down for the second day in a row.
"There are at least 10 plants I have knowledge of that have had operations suspended because of the cyberattack," Paula Schelling-Soldner, acting chairperson for the national council of locals representing food inspectors for the American Federation of Government Employees, told Bloomberg.
JBS SA did not confirm it had been targeted by a ransomware attack, but the situation "has all of the hallmarks of one," Allan Liska, senior security architect at the cybersecurity analytics firm Recorded Future, told Al Jazeera.
The attack comes three weeks after hackers disrupted the operations of Colonial Pipeline Co., which runs the biggest gasoline pipeline in the United States.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday the Biden administration believes the attack came "from a criminal organization likely based in Russia," and that the White House is offering support to JBS SA and "engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter."
In addition to shutting down meat processing operations, Bloomberg reported, the attack prevented the U.S. Department of Agriculture from releasing wholesale prices for pork and beef, crippling agriculture markets.
"No One Knows How Much U.S. Meat Costs After Cyberattack Jams Report," the outlet's headline read.
"Totally normal and functioning food system," Bloomberg journalist Deena Shanker tweeted sarcastically.
One-fifth of U.S. beef production capacity was reportedly "wiped out" Tuesday and slaughterhouses were shuttered worldwide following a cyberattack on JBS SA, the world's largest meat producer.
The Brazilian company shut down its North American and Australian operations following an attack on its servers, with market experts reporting that more extensive shutdowns across the globe are possible.
"This is quickly escalating into a very serious situation," tweeted Robert Burgess, executive editor of Bloomberg Opinion.
The five biggest beef plants in the U.S. shut down operations, halting the handling of 22,500 cattle. One of Canada's largest meat processing plants was also shut down for the second day in a row.
"There are at least 10 plants I have knowledge of that have had operations suspended because of the cyberattack," Paula Schelling-Soldner, acting chairperson for the national council of locals representing food inspectors for the American Federation of Government Employees, told Bloomberg.
JBS SA did not confirm it had been targeted by a ransomware attack, but the situation "has all of the hallmarks of one," Allan Liska, senior security architect at the cybersecurity analytics firm Recorded Future, told Al Jazeera.
The attack comes three weeks after hackers disrupted the operations of Colonial Pipeline Co., which runs the biggest gasoline pipeline in the United States.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Tuesday the Biden administration believes the attack came "from a criminal organization likely based in Russia," and that the White House is offering support to JBS SA and "engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter."
In addition to shutting down meat processing operations, Bloomberg reported, the attack prevented the U.S. Department of Agriculture from releasing wholesale prices for pork and beef, crippling agriculture markets.
"No One Knows How Much U.S. Meat Costs After Cyberattack Jams Report," the outlet's headline read.
"Totally normal and functioning food system," Bloomberg journalist Deena Shanker tweeted sarcastically.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.