Thousands of workers at meatpacking plants in the United States, Canada and Australia had to cancel their working hours on Tuesday due to a hack that has paralyzed the largest company in this industry.
The Brazilian company JBS announced that its beef and pork packing plants in Iowa, Minnesota, Texas and Colorado had to suspend operations indefinitely because they could not use their computerized systems.
JBS USA said in a statement released Monday that on May 30 it was the target of an “organized cybersecurity attack” that affected some of its servers.
The company processes nearly a quarter of all meat consumed in the US, and the attack has raised concerns about a possible disruption in the meat supply.
THE BIDEN GOVERNMENT REACTED TO THE JBS COMPANY HACKING
The White House said in a statement Tuesday that the FBI is investigating the incident, which originated in Russia.
“The White House is in direct contact with the Russian government to emphasize the message that responsible governments should not harbor cybercriminals,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, a spokeswoman for the White House.
In social networks, the managers of JBS plants in Canada and Australia also announced the suspension of their operations for this Tuesday.
The United States government announced on Tuesday sanctions against Russia for the poisoning and imprisonment of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, including visa and economic restrictions, White House officials reported.