Meat giant JBS pays $11 million in ransom to resolve cyberattack

The world's largest meat processing company says it paid the equivalent of $11 million to hackers who broke into its computer system late last month.

 

Brazil-based JBS SA said on May 31 that it was the victim of a ransomware attack, but Wednesday was the first time the company's U.S. division confirmed that it had paid the ransom.

 

“This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally,” said Andre Nogueira, the CEO of JBS USA.

 

“However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers.” JBS said the vast majority of its facilities were operational at the time it made the payment, but it decided to pay in order to avoid any unforeseen issues and ensure no data was exfiltrated.

 

The FBI has attributed the attack to REvil, a Russian-speaking gang that has made some of the largest ransomware demands on record in recent months.

 

Al Jazeera faces cyberattacks

 

Pan-Arab satellite network Al Jazeera said it was subjected to continual hacking attempts over recent days but the cyberattack on Qatar's flagship broadcaster had been fended off.