JBS paid $11m in Bitcoin to hackers soon after cyber attack hit plants

JBS USA said it paid $11 million in ransom to the criminals in charge of the cyber attack that disrupted procedures across North America and Australia, the latest high profile exemplory case of large corporations falling prey to extortion.

“This was a very difficult decision to create for our company and for me,” JBS USA leader Andre Nogueira said in a statement. “Nevertheless, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our clients.”

A spokesperson for JBS Brazil said the ransom payment was manufactured in Bitcoin.

A White House National Reliability Council spokesperson said Wednesday nights that “private companies shouldn't pay out ransom. It encourages and enriches these malicious actors, continues the routine of these episodes, and there is no guarantee companies obtain data back.”

The spokesperson, who didn't mention JBS, reiterated calls for more cooperation between the government and the private sector to deter ransomware attacks and for companies to “set up the cybersecurity defenses to meet up the threat.”

The cyber attack on May 30 forced the Sao Paulo-based meat giant to shut down most of its beef plants in the US, accounting for nearly 25 % of American supplies. In addition, it halted slaughter operations across Australia and idled among Canada’s largest beef crops. The FBI provides attributed the incident to REvil, a hacking group that researchers say has links to Russia.

The global shutdowns alarmed the agricultural industry and brought up concerns about food security as hackers more and more target critical infrastructure. Operations contain returned on track levels and the business expected lost creation to be totally recovered by the end of this week.

Dow Jones had earlier reported the JBS ransom payment.

JBS may be the latest firm to pay hackers immediately after a cyberattack. Colonial Pipeline paid $4.4m, or 75-Bitcoin, found in ransom after a hack that forced it to shut the largest fuel pipeline in the US on May 7, driving up gasoline rates and sparking shortages at filling stations.

Later, the US recouped 63.7 Bitcoin, a sign that police is capable of going after online criminals even though they operate beyond your nation’s borders. Because of the declining benefit of Bitcoin because the Colonial ransom was paid out, the US seizure in late May amounted to $2.3m, just over half the ransom paid weeks earlier.

The recent spate of cyber attacks has prompted lawmakers to push for greater transparency on ransom payments. Tag Warner, chairman of the Senate Cleverness Committee, said it’s “well worth having” a debate over whether to create paying ransoms against the law for US companies since it exacerbates and accelerates the trouble.

JBS in its most recent statement said almost all the company’s facilities were operational during payment. It made a decision to “mitigate any unforeseen concerns related to the assault and ensure no info was exfiltrated” in consultation with internal IT specialists and third-party cybersecurity specialists.

The business added it has preserved frequent communications with government officials through the entire incident, and that third-party forensic investigations remain ongoing.