Pipeline Disruption Hits Meat Companies Again
Biden Orders Active Response Amid Concerns Over Meat Supply Chain Instability
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] JBS SA, one of the world's largest meat processing companies, has reportedly been hit by a ransomware attack originating from Russia, the White House announced.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on the presidential plane en route to Oklahoma on the 1st (local time), "JBS has informed us that they were targeted by a ransomware attack from hackers based in Russia."
She added that the White House has stepped in to support JBS, and the Department of Agriculture is also responding to the incident.
Deputy Press Secretary Jean-Pierre stated, "The White House is directly cooperating with the Russian government on this issue. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the case, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is providing technical assistance for recovery from the hacking damage."
She also mentioned that the Department of Agriculture has taken measures to prevent the spread of damage to other meat processing companies, adding, "President Joe Biden has instructed the administration to actively respond to minimize supply chain disruptions."
One day earlier, JBS USA, the American subsidiary of Brazil's JBS SA, announced in a statement that it had been the victim of a hacking attack.
JBS USA stated, "We are notifying that we have been the target of a coordinated cybersecurity attack," adding, "As a result, servers supporting IT systems in North America and Australia were affected."
JBS explained that it shut down all affected systems, reported the incident to authorities, and is working with IT experts to resolve the hacking issue.
Amid ongoing repercussions from the pipeline hacking incident, concerns are growing that there could be significant disruptions in meat supply as well.
On the 7th of last month, Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline operator in the United States, was forced to halt operations after a ransomware attack by the hacker group DarkSide, causing a major blow to gasoline supply in the U.S.
As Colonial Pipeline, responsible for supplying 45% of the oil to the U.S. East Coast, stopped operations, citizens rushed to hoard fuel, leading to widespread chaos.
Colonial had to pay hackers approximately $5 million in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin and work on system recovery.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
