JBS meat processing plants are slowly getting back online after a Russian cyber warfare attack. What is the Biden Administration doing in response? Issuing memos and having Jen Psaki blame JBS for not being prepared.

These attacks on the cyber security systems should be alarming to us all. We all saw the results of the attack on the Colonial Pipeline. They were shut down for over a week, even after they paid the ransom right away. The corresponding rise in gas prices is a result of this. No, the high gas prices aren’t entirely due to the attack on Colonial, but it WAS one of the consequences of the attack. 

Now JBS got shut down in the United States and Australia, and most plants are only now limping back online. 

JBS SA workers returning to a meat-processing plant in Texas on Wednesday afternoon were told to be ready to do things a bit differently than normal: Work by hand.

With everything from knife sharpening to production-line speed controls relying on automation, coming back from a cyberattack that forced the world’s largest meat producer to halt operations across the globe is set to be a bumpy ride. Because the plants are coming back online without some of their systems in service, there will be a lot more manual work than usual.

“There’s a lot of automation, there’s a lot of reliance on technology,” said Wendell Young, head of the United Food and Commercial Workers’ local union representing 1,500 members at JBS’s beef slaughterhouse in Souderton, Pennsylvania. “You can disconnect some of those wires and switches and run things old-school, but before you do, you want to make sure that everything’s running smoothly.”

That’s the key in this. Much if not all of the processing at JBS plants is fully automated. This cyber attack took that down. Which impacted the ability of JBS to get nearly twenty five percent of our food supply to the grocery stores. 

This is now TWICE in ONE month that two major industries have been shut down by cyber security attacks, thus having a negative impact upon our economy. 

What does the Biden Administration do? Issues an Executive Order in May, and sent out a memo this week urging the private sector to examine their IT infrastructure, their business continuity practices, and set about beefing up their systems…immediately. 

“The threats are serious and they are increasing. We urge you to take these critical steps to protect your organizations and the American public,” wrote Neuberger.

“The U.S. Government is working with countries around the world to hold ransomware actors and the countries who harbor them accountable, but we cannot fight the threat posed by ransomware alone. The private sector has a distinct and key responsibility. The federal government stands ready to help you implement these best practices.”

One thing about the Biden Executive Order is absolutely correct. The various federal agencies need to STOP stove piping information and communicate government-wide on the issues of cyber security threats against our government and against the private sector. This stove piping and protection of information because of political games hurt us horrifically in the lead up to 9/11 and is hurting us now. 

These two cyber attacks hurt the U.S. economy and impacted the world in just one month. This is a major national security concern for us all. Yet what does Jen Psaki do when asked about the issue and JBS?

After NBC's Peter Alexander pressed Jen Psaki on why have we seen two massive cyber attacks on a gas pipeline and now meatpacking since Biden took office, Fox's Peter Doocy gives it a shot and wonders why are these happening now.

Psaki blames the corporations for getting hacked. pic.twitter.com/KugJ8inTzU

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) June 2, 2021

Should private companies do more to protect their IT infrastructure? Many should. Is it truly and only JBS’ fault that a Russian organization conducted a cyber attack on them? Given the Colonial Pipeline attack, our government cyber security folks should’ve been working on high alert 24/7. Where were they? What did they know and when?

Russia and China are conducting cyber security warfare against the United States specifically as well as other countries. This is NOT THE TIME for anyone from the Biden Administration to play blame games. 

The JBS and Colonial Pipeline attacks are a warning. One that the Biden Administration and every U.S. citizen should heed. If our government and private corporations don’t get their IT infrastructure security hardened, nor have people on the alert, which major industry is next? 

Feature Photo Credit: cyber hack by madartzgraphics via Pixabay, cropped and modified