The world’s largest meat processing company has been targeted by a sophisticated cyber-attack, writes BBC.

Computer networks at JBS were hacked, causing some operations in Australia, Canada and the US to temporarily shut down, affecting thousands of workers.

The company believes the ransomware attack originated from a criminal group likely based in Russia, the White House said.

The attack could lead to shortages of meat or raise prices for consumers.

In a ransomware attack, hackers get into a computer network and threaten to cause disruption or delete files unless a ransom is paid.