Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure including transportation systems in New York and Massachusetts demonstrated the intensifying threat that hackers pose to U.S. business and providers of essential services.
An attack this week on JBS SA, the world’s biggest meat company by sales, temporarily upended U.S. food supplies after it caused JBS’s plants to temporarily shut down. White House officials said the hacking was likely carried out by a group based in Russia. JBS said it restarted most of its plants on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, a ransomware attack disrupted ferry services in Massachusetts. New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority also revealed Wednesday that it had been hacked in April, although the attack didn’t disrupt operations, including the city’s subway system.
In May, the operator of an essential pipeline bringing gasoline to parts of the East Coast paid about $4.4 million to regain control of its operations and restore service.
San Diego-based Scripps Health said Tuesday that it is still recovering from a cyberattack it discovered on May 1 that disrupted its patient portal, electronic medical records, radiology and other systems and canceled or delayed appointments at its hospitals and clinics.
