World’s No.1 Meat Firm JBS Pays $11mln in Bitcoin to Hackers

A malware assault targeted JBS S.A, the world’s biggest meat producer by revenue, last week. Its network was shuttered, putting further pressure on the food distribution chain, which has already been facing output constraints and high transit costs.

The company’s chief promised that its factories will be operating on Wednesday, stating that attempts to get back the system online had progressed.

JBS paid an extortion of $11 million in Bitcoin to get back on schedule, as per news originally published by the Wall Street Journal and verified by the business. This was carried out with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists and in-house IT staff.

As per Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA, the goal was to guarantee that no information had gone through and that no unanticipated issues arose as a result of the assault.

“This was a hard call for our organization and for me individually to undertake. Nevertheless, we thought it was necessary to make this choice in order to avoid any significant hazard to our clients.”

The bulk of the firm’s capabilities were also working at the time of settlement, according to the business. From Australia to South America and Europe, JBS is recognized for processing beef, pig, and poultry. It is still the largest beef processor and poultry and pork supplier in the United States.

It appears, nevertheless, that it did not pay much attention to cybersecurity. Throughout 2017 and 2018, the corporation allegedly undertook a cybersecurity audit, according to several anonymous workers. It was later discovered that the company’s platform had flaws that might be misused by intruders.

As a result, they were urged to invest in specific surveillance systems in order to identify any possible incursion. The corporation, on the other hand, claimed that it was too costly. The FBI has attributed the hack to REvil, a Russian-based cybersecurity firm.

They are quite skilled in their tactics, and have sought as much as $50 million from well-known firms such as Apple in order to restore their hacked information. The JBS event is part of a series of malware assaults targeting businesses that want millions of dollars in Bitcoin as compensation.

The Colonial Pipeline, which supplies petroleum to over half of the East Coast, was targeted last month by DarkSide, a hacking gang that began as a REvil offshoot. Authorities have identified and collected $2.3 million of the $4.3 million in Bitcoin given as extortion, according to the US Justice Department.

When a malware assault is conducted on critical infrastructure, they will make no attempt, as per Lisa Monaco, the US deputy attorney general.

“Ransomware assaults are never appropriate, but when they threaten important infrastructure, we will go to great lengths to protect it. Follow the money trail stays one of our most simple, yet effective, tools.”