Russian hackers block Brazilian meat giant JBS USA

A powerful cyber attack has hit the US headquarters of the Brazilian multinational meat company JBS. The group’s cybersecurity technicians are convinced that the attack, which forced part of the company to stop production in North America and Australia, originated in Russia.

In fact, JBS received a ransom note from a “criminal organization most likely in Russia” as confirmed by the Joe Biden administration. “The cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing and we must adapt to meet new and emerging threats,” said Alejandro Mallorcas, head of the US Department of Homeland Security.

In JBS, it is a very serious matter, second in chronological order after the one at the expense of the DarkSide group that caused the temporary shutdown of the colony’s gas pipeline network. Grid provides 45% of the fuel consumed by the East Coast of the United States.

The White House has offered assistance to JBS along with the Department of Agriculture while the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) investigate and support the group.

The Russian government has loudly emphasized that a responsible country like Russia does not host criminals “ransomware” Nor is it a rule for cybercriminals like cybercriminals like Darkside.

Ransomware (basically a virus) is a cybercrime modus operandi that involves using vulnerabilities in a computer system to block it and then demanding a ransom to recover it.

Colonial Pipeline, one of the largest fuel distribution networks in the United States, had to pay the hackers $4.4 million to unlock their systems.

On Monday, the company revealed the attack on the meat giant. “JBS USA has established that it was the target of an attack on its cybersecurity, affecting servers supporting computer systems in North America and Australia.”

For their part, the trade unions gave a clearer picture of what had been accomplished.

The Food and Commerce Workers’ Federation, a labor union in Colorado and Wyoming, said slaughter and production shifts were called off Monday.

The Wisconsin plant reported that there would be no production on that day. Another from Utah announced a suspension of operations Monday as well, while the shutdown in Iowa was partial, with only four wards paralyzed.

JBS Canada canceled some operations between Monday and Tuesday, but then resumed production.

JBS, a multinational corporation headquartered in Brazil specializing in processed beef, chicken and pork products, is one of the largest agri-food companies in the world, with a presence in the United States, Australia, Canada, Europe, Mexico, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The company confirmed that its backup servers were not affected by the incident and hopes to resume work at most factories on Wednesday. In Australia, the JBS plant has been crippled, forcing 10,000 workers to go home without pay.

The two cyber attacks cited come after audacious interference with software company SolarWinds in 2020, which Washington attributes to a Moscow-backed group, that led to a series of harsh sanctions against Soviet individuals and companies. According to Microsoft, a new wave of cyber attacks against government agencies, expert centers, consulting firms and other organizations is suspected.