Over Memorial Day weekend, the US outpost of the world’s largest meat processing company, JBS, was the victim of a cyberattack, causing JBS USA to temporarily take their IT systems offline, and pausing meat production. According to JBS, the attack was a ransomware attack by the hacker group REvil. While systems were beginning to go back online within the week following the attack, the latest security concern for corporations is increasing the heat just as North America’s summer season kicks into gear.

Stoppages and Shortages

The work of getting the meat producing company back online was relatively swift considering that food companies, according to cybersecurity expert Allan Liska, are at “about the same level of security as manufacturing and shipping. Which is to say, not very.” In other words, the food industry is the latest to see its supply chain and production threatened as a result of security breaches and attacks. Such attacks could threaten summer BBQs as well as grocery store supply chains that many consumers take for granted.

Just a few weeks prior, Colonial Pipeline faced a similar ransomware attack that very publicly knocked its shipment of fuel between Texas and New York offline. The result was a rush on gas stations and suppliers as the Southern and Mid-Atlantic areas of the country confronted an upcoming holiday weekend without gas for quick family getaways or road trips.

More recently, the ferry system servicing Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket was the latest victim of a ransomware attack. The attack came just as many families and tourists began their annual treks to and from the Northeast coast, again threatening what has become a rite of summer for many.

Secure Risk Management

As we’ve shared before, a cyberattack or ransomware attack is not necessarily the same thing as a third party data breach. Just the same, they are the same types of threats that should serve as wake-up calls for all information security and risk analysts, regardless of the size of their company or the industry in which they operate.

Following the Colonial Pipeline attack, a CNN article shared executive assistant director of cybersecurity Eric Goldstein’s warning:  “This underscores the threat that ransomware poses to organizations regardless of size or sector. We encourage every organization to take action to strengthen their cybersecurity posture to reduce their exposure to these types of threats.”

Vendor Risk Management

In the 21st century, data is every company’s most valuable asset. While that data is often protected within the organization, the same cannot always be assured when sharing it with third party vendors, sellers, or providers. In a global economy, some level of risk is unfortunately part of the overall business equation.

This is why ThirdPartyTrust exists: to protect your company, its data, and your business ecosystem.

ThirdPartyTrust is a leading third party risk management and vendor risk management company providing solutions for both organizations and enterprises and third party vendors to ensure that the sharing of information and operation of secure systems is seamless and protected.

We exist to help companies prepare for and avoid security risks. To avoid the next major breach or attack, start with understanding how your information and systems are shared with third party vendors. We can get your TPRM ready for the summer heat. Let’s get started.