The White House said a ransom demand came from a group «likely based in Russia.»
The fallout from the cyberattack on global meat producer JBS continued on Tuesday as the White House officially identified it as a ransomware attack and reports emerged of other downstream effects from the shutdown of the company’s IT systems. JBS released a statement on Monday admitting that «some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems» were brought down by an «organized cybersecurity attack» on Sunday. The company is the second largest meat and poultry processor in the United States and accounts for nearly one quarter of all the beef produced in the country as well as one fifth of all pork. JBS has shut down all of the affected systems and contacted the White House on Tuesday, according to a statement from deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. While the initial JBS statement did not say it was a ransomware attack, Jean-Pierre confirmed that it was and told reporters on Tuesday the company had already gotten a ransom demand from an organization «likely based in Russia.» She did not say whether JBS plans to pay the ransom or not. «The White House is engaging directly with the Russian government on this matter and delivering the message that responsible states do not harbor ransomware criminals,» Jean-Pierre said during a briefing on Air Force One. She added that the White House is working with the Department of Agriculture, the FBI and CISA on helping JBS while also coordinating with meat suppliers across the country in case supply is affected by the attack. Government officials in Australia are also working with the company to remedy the problem. Bloomberg News and The Counter reported that the attack was already so damaging that the Department of Agriculture was unable to release the wholesale prices for beef and pork, affecting thousands involved in the agriculture market. «Packer submission issues» was cited as the main reason for the delay in releasing the report.
