Meat processor JBS has closed Australian operations after its units in the country and North America were affected by an organised cybersecurity attack.

The attack impacted some of the servers supporting the company’s North American and Australian information technology (IT) systems.

In a statement, JBS USA said: “The company took immediate action, suspending all affected systems, notifying authorities and activating the company’s global network of IT professionals and third-party experts to resolve the situation.

“The company’s backup servers were not affected, and it is actively working with an incident response firm to restore its systems as soon as possible.”

As a result of the cybersecurity attack, JBS has reportedly stopped beef and lamb kills across New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and Queensland in Australia.

Industry news website Beefcentral quoted JBS Australia CEO Brent Eastwood as saying that he is not sure as to how long the stoppage would last.

The company’s Primo Smallgoods business in Queensland has also been impacted by the attack.

The website reported that it would not be feasible for JBS to continue its meat processing operations in Australia, without establishing normal access to the IT and internet systems.

JBS USA added: “The company is not aware of any evidence at this time that any customer, supplier or employee data has been compromised or misused as a result of the situation. Resolution of the incident will take time, which may delay certain transactions with customers and suppliers.”

With operations in Canada and the US, the company processes beef, pork and other prepared foods.