United States of America eSeries: A fowl cyberattack 🐔

A fowl cyberattack 🐔

Posted by :

Dave here, in for Allison who figured out how to turn a three-day weekend into a six-day weekend. I'm not even mad – I'm just impressed. Let's get into it.

By David Goldman

🐔 CHICKEN HACK

Hackers ran a-fowl of a bunch of chicken executives Tuesday.

THE NEWS

In today's edition of There's a Different Hack Every Day, JBS, one of the world's largest meatpackers, says cyberattackers breached servers supporting the company's operations in North America and Australia.

The White House told reporters Tuesday that JBS was a victim of a ransomware attack "from a criminal organization likely based in Russia." The White House is directly dealing with the Russian government on the matter. But it will take time to resolve the problem, potentially delaying JBS' operations.

The parent company of Pilgrim's, Country Pride and Aberdeen Black is no spring chicken: It operates in 15 countries, supplying food and poultry to customers in 100 countries. So any disruption could have a lasting impact on the global meat market.

It's unclear what this means for an industry that's already been hurt by supply-chain disruptions. But if JBS isn't able to reboot its operations quickly, that could reduce the amount of chicken available to customers. Lower supply means higher prices, so we could all have that to look forward to.

MY TWO CENTS
Seriously, folks, it's time to get real about cybersecurity. We have no idea about the details of this attack, or how sophisticated this hack was, so it's entirely conceivable that JBS did everything right and just got unlucky here.

BUT… we know how bad guys tend to get in: right through the front door. They get an employee to unwittingly give up their username and password. Phishing is a huge problem, and companies that are investing resources in two-factor authentication, cybersecurity education and locking down their operations are better prepared for this scary world in which hackers can take down, say, an oil pipeline that services the entire East Coast.

🎾 QUOTE OF THE DAY

Our thoughts are with Naomi. We support her and recognize her courage in sharing her own mental health experience.

Naomi Osaka, the No. 2 ranked women's tennis player in the 2021 French Open, shocked the world when she left the tournament, citing mental health concerns. Her biggest sponsor, Nike, made it clear it has her back. And we do too here at Nightcap.

📉 DUMP TRUMP TARIFFS?

Former President Donald Trump's tariffs on everything from steel to washing machines were deeply unpopular with just about everyone. They hurt the economy and made you pay more for just about everything.

Steel and lumber prices, in particular, are soaring as the US economy rebounds and shortages pop up all over the supply chain. So undoing the tariffs on those goods would be a no-brainer, right?

Yeah, about that…

Although President Joe Biden could undo the tariffs with a stroke of a pen, that would undermine his efforts to rebuild American manufacturing jobs, my colleague Matt Egan notes. Removing the tariffs could send prices sinking, hurting manufacturers, even if it helped boost the overall economy.

Yeesh, that's a Sophie's choice if I've ever heard of one: Undo the tariffs and hurt good ol' made-in-the-USA manufacturers or leave them be and keep prices sky-high. It's another reason why President of the United States is the worst job in the world. Good luck, Joe!

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?

🍕Even Pizza Hut acknowledges that crust is the worst part of its pizza. So it's bringing back "The Edge" with toppings right up to … the edge.

🍩Krispy Kreme has given away more than 1.5 million free doughnuts to vaccinated people.

🍜 The biggest-ever IPO in the Philippines is from … an instant noodle company? Yum!

🎬 AMC had a great weekend, with the debuts of "Cruella" and "A Quiet Place Part 2." It also sold a bunch of stock, so shares are memeing again.