Headline Roundup • June 1st, 2021
Hack Cuts Off Nearly 20% of US Meat Production
Summary from the AllSides News Team
JBS S.A., the world's largest meatpacking company, has cut off livestock slaughter at its five biggest U.S. plants following a weekend cyber attack. The stoppage reportedly halts nearly 20% of U.S. meat production, and may cause temporary food service shortages and rises in meat prices. JBS told the White House that the hack likely came from Russia; the White House says it has contacted Russia regarding the hack and launched an FBI investigation. President Joe Biden will likely discuss the hack with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the two meet later this month at a summit in Geneva, Switzerland. Russian hackers are also suspected of the attack on the Colonial Pipeline last month.
The news made headlines across the political spectrum Tuesday; sources usually mentioned the production shutdowns, potential and possible Russian connection. Some reports from center- and right-rated sources framed price rises and shortages as more likely than coverage from left-rated sources did.
Featured Coverage of this Story

The Daily Caller
The JBS meatpacking company was reportedly targeted by Russian hackers over the weekend, forcing it to shut down operations in North America and Australia.
JBS’s servers were breached May 30, it announced in a Monday press release. The White House said the hackers demanded a ransom. As a result, the company was forced to temporarily shut down meatpacking plants in Colorado, Nebraska, Texas, Alberta, Canada and Queensland, Australia.
JBS produces one-fourth of the United States’ beef and one-fifth of the country’s pork, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Sao Paulo, Brazil-based company sold more than $50 billion...

Reuters
Brazil’s JBS SA (JBSS3.SA) told the U.S. government that a ransomware attack on the company that has disrupted meat production in North America and Australia originated from a criminal organization likely based in Russia, the White House said on Tuesday.
JBS is the world’s largest meatpacker and the cyberattack caused its Australian operations to shut down on Monday and has stopped livestock slaughter at its plants in several U.S. states.
The attack follows one last month by a group with ties to Russia on Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States,...

Bloomberg
A cyberattack on JBS SA, the largest meat producer globally, forced the shutdown of some of world’s largest slaughterhouses, and there are signs that closures are spreading.
JBS’s five biggest beef plants in the U.S. -- which altogether handle 22,500 cattle a day -- halted processing following a weekend attack on the Brazilian company’s computer networks, according to JBS posts on Facebook, labor unions and employees. Those outages wiped out nearly a fifth of America’s production. Slaughter operations across Australia were also down, according to a trade group, and one of Canada’s largest...
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