Thousands of meat industry workers in the United States and Australia were given unexpected days off after a cyber-attack at the global meat processing company JBS over the weekend.
Many of the company's global sites have had to halt production due to safety measures, and it is not yet known when they will resume work.
According to a statement from JBS USA, unknown perpetrators launched an organized cyber-attack against their servers. The company is working with authorities to investigate and resolve the issue.
Australian Prime Minister says it could take days before production can resume. JBS is Australia's largest meat and food processing company, employing more than 11,000 people in its slaughterhouses, processing plants, and feed stores.
According to David Littleproud, the Minister of Agriculture, export consignments are not particularly affected by the shortfall. There is no evidence the attack was motivated by animal rights or environmental activism. He added that it is too early to name the suspected perpetrators of the attack and that although there is a suspicion it may have been a ransomware attack, this is not yet confirmed.
