LONDON (Dispatches) - The world’s largest meat processing company has paid the equivalent of $11mn in ransom to put an end to a major cyber attack.
Computer networks at JBS were hacked last week, temporarily shutting down some operations in Australia, Canada and the U.S.
The payment was reportedly made using Bitcoin after plants had come back online.
JBS says it was necessary to pay to protect customers.
In a ransomware attack, hackers get into a computer network and threaten to cause disruption or delete files unless a ransom in cryptocurrency is paid.
“This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally,” said JBS chief executive Andre Nogueira.
The company added that it paid the money because of the sophistication of the attack, even though the “vast majority” of its plants remained operational.
The company was forced to halt cattle slaughtering at all of its U.S. plants for a day.
That disruption threatened food supplies and risked higher food prices for consumers.
Last month, fuel delivery in the south east of the U.S. was crippled for several days after a ransomware attack targeted the Colonial Pipeline.