JBS, the world's largest meat producer, has been forced to close a number of its plants around the world as the result of a cyberattack on its servers.

In a statement from JBS USA, which is headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, the company said it was targeted by an "organized cybersecurity attack" on Sunday.

The attack affected "some of the servers supporting its North American and Australian IT systems," the statement read.

"The company's backup servers were not affected and it is actively working with an Incident Response firm to restore its systems as soon as possible," JBS USA said.

JBS Brazil said late on Tuesday that it had made "significant progress" and was planning to have the "vast majority" of its operation up and running again on Wednesday.

"Our systems are coming back online and we are not sparing any resources to fight this threat," CEO of JBS USA Andre Noguera said.

On Tuesday, the White House confirmed reports that the incident was a ransomware attack — saying ransom demand came from a criminal organization likely based in Russia.

As a result of the attack, JBS closed facilities in Australia on Monday and in the US and Canada on Tuesday.

Company processes nearly a quarter of all US meat

JBS, the largest beef producer in the US, slaughters, packages and sells roughly a quarter of all beef in the country and a fifth of the pork.

The processing plants that JBS USA closed in Utah, Texas, Wisconsin and Nebraska, and the "kill and fabrication shifts" it canceled at plants in Iowa and Colorado on Tuesday, account for the slaughter and processing of some 22,500 cows each day.

JBS also owns pork facilities in the US, and Pilgrim's Pride, the country's second largest chicken producer.

According to company filings, JBS USA's beef, pork and poultry divisions had net revenue of about $40 billion (€33 billion) in 2020. JBS USA operates in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Europe.

The biggest meat processor in Canada and in Australia, too

In Canada, JBS closed its Brooks processing plant in the province of Alberta. According to the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, the facility processes 30% of all federally inspected meat in the country.

A day prior, on Monday, JBS shut down operations at its Dinmore Australia facility — the biggest beef plant in the southern hemisphere. JBS, which is also Australia's largest meat processor, exports to more than 50 countries from facilities there.

Australian Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has said the government is working with international partners trying to trace, rectify and prosecute where possible, those behind the attack.

Closures and fears drive markets in different directions

As a result of the closings, ranchers delivering livestock in the US, Canada and Australia were turned away from JBS facilities — recalling images from last year, when cattle and hogs on some US farms were euthanized after extended slaughterhouse closures.

The JBS shutdowns come at a time of oversupply caused by staffing difficulties due to coronavirus outbreaks at plants. This, coupled with increased Chinese demand for what is being processed, has driven up the cost of meat.

The plants, some of the biggest in the world, account for a major portion of global meat processing and news of the closures quickly influenced markets with livestock futures sinking and pork prices rising amid fears about global food supplies. 

JBS said the incident may delay certain transactions with customers and suppliers, though said it's Brazilian operations had not been affected by the attack.

The company owns facilities in 20 countries, with the US accounting for half of its overall revenue, Australia and New Zealand representing 4% and Canada 3%, according to fillings.

The attack on JBS comes three weeks after Colonial Pipeline Co., operator of the biggest gasoline pipeline in the US, was targeted in a ransomware attack, causing gas shortages throughout large swaths of the country.

js/rs (AP, Reuters)