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Hackers attack America’s largest meat processor over Memorial Day weekend

The attack comes less than a month after hackers attacked a critical gas pipeline.

Hackers attack America’s largest meat processor over Memorial Day weekend

[Photo: Chet Strange For The Washington Post via Getty Images]

BY Michael Grothaus1 minute read

Several weeks ago hackers attacked America’s critical gas infrastructure. This week hackers attacked the company’s food production facilities. Who knows what’s next on the list?

This latest attack saw hackers target the information systems of Brazilian meat processing giant JBS. Though based in Brazil, JBS is one of the world’s most prominent meat processors and has operations in Canada, America, and Australia. It’s their operations in those nations that were impacted by the attack.

In a statement, JBS said that on Sunday, May 30th the company determined it was under a cyberattack “affecting some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems.” JBS says its backup systems were not affected, however, it will still take some time before all IT systems are back up and running as normal.

The result means that certain transactions with customers and suppliers could be delayed. While there is no sign that this cyberattack will severely hamper America’s meat supply, it is a worrying sign that hackers seem to be choosing to attack critical infrastructures and operations much of the nation depends on an increasingly frequent basis.

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At this time there is no evidence the gas pipeline and meat processing cyberattacks were carried out by the same group. The company also believes that no employee, customer, or supplier data were compromised in the attack.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael Grothaus is a novelist and author. He has written for Fast Company since 2013, where he's interviewed some of the tech industry’s most prominent leaders and writes about everything from Apple and artificial intelligence to the effects of technology on individuals and society. Michael’s current tech-focused areas of interest include AI, quantum computing, and the ways tech can improve the quality of life for the elderly and individuals with disabilities More