JBS USA, major meat producer, reeling from ‘organized cybersecurity attack’

JBS USA, the American subsidiary of one of the world’s largest meat producers, said it was the target of an “organized cybersecurity attack” that has disrupted its operations in the U.S. and abroad.

In a statement Monday, the company said it ascertained over the weekend that it suffered a cyberattack affecting some of the computer servers that support its North American and Australian IT systems.

The company owns dozens of brands, including Pilgrim’s, Country Pride, Swift and Blue Ribbon.

“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,” JBS USA said in the statement, adding its backup servers were not affected and that it was working to restore its systems as soon as possible.

“The company is not aware of any evidence at this time that any customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised or misused as a result of the situation,” the statement said. “Resolution of the incident will take time, which may delay certain transactions with customers and suppliers.”

JBS USA did not immediately respond to a message requesting additional information about the incident, including questions about the scale and scope of the apparent cyberattack.

A number of JBS USA facilities seemed to be still be reeling from the cyberattack as of Tuesday, however, evidenced by operations at several of its plants being scaled back or sidelined.

On its social media pages, JBS USA facilities in Texas, Minnesota and Iowa each announced that several work shifts would be canceled Tuesday, for example. The incident also halted operations at a beef plant in Alberta, Canada, Bloomberg News reported. Cattle and lamb processing at an Australian facility was canceled as well, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, JBS USA is a subsidiary of JBS Foods, which is based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The subsidiary boasts online of being the biggest beef producer in the U.S., as well as the country’s second-largest producer of pork and poultry.