Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Major Meat Producer JBS Paid Hackers $11 Million in Bitcoin After Cyberattack, CEO Reveals

Major Meat Producer JBS Paid Hackers $11 Million in Bitcoin After Cyberattack, CEO Reveals

JBS is a Brazilian company considered to be one of the world’s largest producers of both beef and poultry, establishing a foothold in the US, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the UK. However, within the US, operating as JBS USA Holdings Inc., the company is known as the top dog in the industry.

JBS USA Holdings Inc. recently forked over $11 million in bitcoin to cybercriminals who attacked the company’s operating systems as part of a larger effort to avoid any further disruptions to the business, the supplier has revealed.

Andre Nogueira, the chief executive officer of the company’s US division, disclosed to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday that the hefty bitcoin payout was done after the majority of the JBS’ plants had resumed operations.

“It was very painful to pay the criminals, but we did the right thing for our customers,” the company chief said, adding that the company tech experts warned hackers could attack again despite their efforts to mitigate the effects of the cyberattack. “We didn’t think we could take this type of risk that something could go wrong in our recovery process.”

“It was insurance to protect our customers,” Nogueira underscored, referring to the decision to pay the ransom.

Although officials did immediately alert US federal authorities about the ransomware incident, Nogueira revealed they also had cybersecurity experts and fellow consultants starting to negotiate with the attackers, who were later identified as the REvil group.

Employees walk around with face masks at the JBS USA meat packing plant, which on Monday was closed after numerous employees tested positive and two have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Greeley, Colorado, U.S., April 14, 2020


At present, the company is still unsure about how the cybercriminals managed to gain access to JBS’ systems. The CEO explained that the company was able to quickly resume operations as it maintains an encrypted, secondary backup system.

Nogueira declined to specify when the payout was issued, as well as name the cybersecurity experts it had been working alongside during the hacking event. The official did state the company is certain information regarding its customers, suppliers and employees was not compromised.

JBS first announced that it had been victim to a cyberattack on May 31, a day after the incident actually took place. It was not until June 3 that the company declared it had restored its systems and was “fully operational.”

Incidentally, the cyberattack came a few weeks after hackers targeted the Colonial Pipeline and forced a six-day shutdown to one of the US’ largest fuel suppliers. At the time, it was revealed pipeline officials paid hackers $4.4 million to the DarkSide cybercriminal group. However, the US Department of Justice announced earlier this week that it had managed to recover the “majority” of the funds.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×