Security News > 2021 > June > Beef Supplier JBS Paid Hackers $11 Million Ransom After Cyberattack

Meat processing company JBS on Wednesday confirmed it paid extortionists $11 million in bitcoins to regain access to its systems following a destructive ransomware attack late last month.

"In consultation with internal IT professionals and third-party cybersecurity experts, the company made the decision to mitigate any unforeseen issues related to the attack and ensure no data was exfiltrated," JBS USA said in a statement, with CEO Andre Nogueira adding the firm made the "Very difficult decision" to prevent any potential risk for its customers.

JBS, the world's largest meat company by sales, on May 30 disclosed it fell prey to an "Organized cybersecurity attack" targeting its IT network, temporarily knocking out its operations in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. The intrusion was attributed to REvil, a prolific Russia-linked cybercrime group that has emerged as one of the top-earning ransomware cartels by revenue.

Run as a ransomware-as-a-service business, REvil was also one of the early adopters of the so-called "Double extortion" model that has since been emulated by other groups to exert further pressure on the victim company to meet ransom demands within the designated timeframe and maximize their chances of making a profit.

The attack on JBS comes amid a recent spate of ransomware incursions in which companies are hit with demands for multimillion-dollar payments in exchange for a key to unlock the systems.

In a similar development, U.S. insurance firm CNA is said to have allegedly paid off $40 million to the attackers to recover access to its systems in what's believed to be one of the most expensive ransoms settled to date.

News URL

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHackersNews/~3/1MDhg0pYgZk/beef-supplier-jbs-paid-hackers-11.html