JBS USA and Pilgrim’s Pride have made significant progress in resolving the cybersecurity attack that impacted the companies’ operations in North America and Australia.
JBS USA reported over the weekend that it was the target of a cybersecurity attack, but that immediate action was taken by the company, suspending all affected systems, notifying authorities and activating the company’s global network of information technology professionals.
In a notice to the market, published by JBS on the evening of June 1, it was stated that JBS USA and Pilgrim’s were able to ship products from nearly all of their facilities to supply customers. JBS is also making progress in resuming plant operations in the United States and in Australia.
Meanwhile, several of the companies’ poultry and pork plants were operational on June 1, and operations returned to the JBS beef plant in Canada.
None of Pilgrim’s Pride’s operations in Mexico or the United Kingdom were impacted by the cybersecurity attack.
“JBS USA and Pilgrim’s are a critical part of the food supply chain and we recognize our responsibility to our team members, producers and consumers to resume operations as soon as possible,” stated Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA.
JBS USA and Pilgrim’s Pride say the companies have received strong support from the U.S., Canadian and Australian governments, and they are speaking with officials daily in an effort to safeguard the food supply.
At this point, neither company is aware of any evidence that any customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised.
JBS USA is a leading processor of beef, pork and prepared foods in the U.S., a leading beef processor in Canada, and a leading processor of beef, pork, lamb and prepared foods in Australia. It is also a majority shareholder of Pilgrim’s Pride, the second largest poultry company in the United States, with operations also in Mexico and in Europe.
JBS USA is a unit of JBS SA, headquartered in Sao Paolo, Brazil. According to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, JBS is the world’s largest protein supplier and the second largest food company. It also ranks first globally as a poultry producer, having slaughtered 4.04 billion broilers during the past year.
