Cybersecurity concerns

While no major New Zealand meat or dairy processor has reported cybersecurity breaches, the recent crippling attack on the world's largest meat processor JBS shows that companies need to be prepared.

Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says that while she can't comment specifically on the JBS situation, NZ's red meat industry takes the security of its systems extremely seriously.

"New Zealand's processing and exporting companies continue to invest in this area to ensure we are adequately prepared," Karapeeva told Rural News.

Fonterra chief information security officer Thomas Willig told Rural News that cybersecurity has become a common challenge for business globally.

"We have a cybersecurity strategy in place to minimise the likelihood of ransomware incidents, improve resiliency and mitigate negative impacts in the event of an attack."

Two weeks ago, JBS was forced to shutdown all its US beef plants, stalling output from facilities that supply almost a quarter of American supplies.

Dairy Companies of New Zealand (DCANZ) chief executive Kimberly Crewther says the increase in cyber crime is concerning for all businesses with the attacks on the Waikato District Health Board and JBS being just two examples.

She says dairy companies work individually with cyber security providers and DCANZ is not privy to the specifics of this engagement or individual company executives.