Cybersecurity attack hits world's largest meat supplier JBS' IT systems in the US and Australia

[TexasTowelie]

Source: USA Today

JBS USA, the world's largest meat supplier, says it was the target of an “organized cybersecurity attack."

In a statement, JBS, which has its U.S. headquarters in Greeley, Colorado, said the attack affected some of its servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems.

"The company took immediate action, suspending all affected systems, notifying authorities and activating the company's global network of IT professionals and third-party experts to resolve the situation," the company said in its statement. "The company’s backup servers were not affected, and it is actively working with an Incident Response firm to restore its systems as soon as possible."

How consumers might be impacted by the attack was not immediately known Monday.

Read more: https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/tech/2021/05/31/jbs-cybersecurity-attack-top-meat-supplier/5285566001/

[Maxheader]

1. I don't know zip about systems that big..

And how being shut off affects the world...

[TexasTowelie]

2. I'm still waiting for an explanation as to how they ship the cows through the pipeline.

[Rollo]

4. First there was Beyond Meat...

Now there is the Virtual Meat...

Where O Where will it ever end?

Virtually, Never!

[Javaman]

9. it ends here...

I eat beef and I have tried meal worms. cooked meal worms are actually very tasty.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2012/12/19/167639501/mealworms-beat-meat-for-a-place-on-the-menu-in-environmental-study

[oldsoftie]

3. And yet no one has been able to crack the Bitcoin code?

How is that possible?

And we MUST do something about this shit. I'm definitely NOT any sort of computer expert, but WHY does a meat supplier need to have its computer systems open to the web?

[TexasTowelie]

5. Well, the computer guru at JBS did set the password to 12345 after all.

[stopdiggin]

6. because they have thousands of employees

(and very probably subcontracters) across the globe, doing things like payroll, inventory, supply chain, shipping, logistics and training -- and all of those people have to have access to at least some part of the network.

But, yeah -- 'ease of use, user experience and access' -- at some point are going to start looking just plain dumb! It's long past time ...

[melm00se]

7. Having systems

open to the web is a fact of life.

Long ago, companies had frame relay clouds set up which, for the most part, were private but also very expensive. With the internet providing similar infrastructure (except for the private part) for far far less than the older technology, it transformed computer networks.

Couple that with the fact that employees, contractors, suppliers etc needing access (if nothing else for email), companies had infrastructure open to be viewed and poked at.

Also, bear in mind that a company's network and data guardians have to be on guard 100% of the time with zero mistakes. Hackers have almost infinite time to poke and prod at a network until a vulnerability is found (which IT, software vendors or hardware vendors may not be aware of and then factor in the one idiot who clicks the wrong link or opens the wrong attachment) and the hacker "wins" and gains entry.

Nothing is perfect and people, certainly, aren't. THAT is the weakness that bad guys will exploit.

[bucolic_frolic]

8. All these hackers are just toying with us, testing various industries at the highest level

Meat distribution scrambled. Warehouses emptied quickly. Trucking sidelined. Restaurants low on supply, turn to supermarkets, which experience a run on their supplies on hand. Consumers stretching what's in their freezers, panic buying from online fulfillment. DoorDash, GrubHub, Shipt, and all the rest idled. Every pudgy Republican screaming "Where's my meat and potatoes?!"

If they targeted everything at once we'd be incapacitated for months. Energy, food, shipping ... it's all exposed.

[oldsoftie]

10. Just wait till they do it with the electrical grid.

THATS when the real shit hits the fan.

[IronLionZion]

12. Texas does it to their own electrical grid

as a pre-emptive strike or something. nt

[IronLionZion]

11. They've attacked America's oil and meat, what's next? guns? beer?

[Eugene]

13. White House contacts Russia after hack of world's largest meatpacking company

Source: Reuters

White House contacts Russia after hack of world’s largest meatpacking company

Reuters
Tue 1 Jun 2021 19.23 BST

A ransomware attack against the world’s largest meatpacking company that has disrupted meat production in North America and Australia originated from a criminal organization probably based in Russia, the White House was informed on Tuesday.

The attack on Brazil’s JBS caused its Australian operations to shut down on Monday and has stopped livestock slaughter at its plants in several US states.

The ransomware attack follows one last month on Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States, that crippled fuel delivery for several days in the US south-east.

The White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said JBS had given details of the hack to the White House, that the United States had contacted Russia’s government about the matter and that the FBI was investigating.

“The White House has offered assistance to JBS and our team at the Department of Agriculture have spoken to their leadership several times in the last day,” Jean-Pierre said.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/jun/01/jbs-meatpacking-ransomware-hack-russia-white-house