Cyber Attackers Strike Again

Just last week JBS, one of the worlds largest meat suppliers became yet another victim of a cyberattack. This just weeks after Colonial Pipeline, the largest pipeline system for refined oil products in the U.S., was hit by a similar ransomware attack. On Monday, June 1st, a team member from the JBS plant in Grand Island, Nebraska, wrote: "This weekend our company was the target of a cyberattack that has impacted our IT systems. As a result, we will not operate tomorrow. ONLY MAINTENANCE AND SHIPPING ARE SCHEDULED TO WORK." As a result of the cyberattack, JBS will resume all of its operations on Wednesday, June 9th. After further inspection, officials uncovered that REvil (Sodinokibi), a Russian-speaking gang, is the group behind this most recent ransomware attack. 

With the drastic increase in cyberattacks during the past few months, companies all across the world are ensuring their information is safe and if they do happen to fall victim to one of these attacks, that they have the proper actions in place to guarantee their safety. 

"We are clearly in the middle of a ransomware pandemic," Mark Ostrowski, Head of Engineering, at Check Point Software, told Fox Business in a statement. "The technique of triple extortion, where hackers threaten not only their targets, but their target’s customers and partners, is a good example of this," he said.

It is unknown if JBS did pay ransom. President Biden plans to sit down with Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin, to discuss these most recent attacks against some of the United States biggest companies. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki believes Putin has some say in preventing and stopping these attacks. 

Although JBS says they are fully recovered from the cyberattack, experts are working day and night to make sure another U.S. business does not get hit with a ransomware attack. 

Apogee IT Services is an experienced managed services provider that can help lessen your vulnerabilities. Internal- and external-network scans and user-awareness training also could increase certainty in your protection.

Many leaders choose not to remediate findings for various reasons. Some aren’t repairable, and the cost to fix others might outweigh the benefit to the business. But that doesn’t lessen the value of investing in cybersecurity protection. An infinite army of hackers ceaselessly search for avenues on which to strike. No organization should choose a reactive approach. A proactive plan is the safest defense against a metastasizing swamp of degenerates.

No strategy will completely protect a business from becoming a victim. But no strategy likely will guarantee a breach and budget deficit that could be too much to withstand. Spend wisely, and rest easier, knowing you strengthened your company’s certainty. 

Source: NBC News