How the cyber attack on JBS may have affected transport and logistics businesses

You’re likely up to speed by now with recent news of JBS’ cyber security breach which saw the company’s operations in Australia and North America come to a halt until earlier today, but you may still be asking yourself ‘how exactly might this have affected my clients?”

NTI’s Kurt Herron, Logistics Risk Engineer – Marine, has simplified some of the key potential pain points for operators across the transport, logistics and retail sectors:

1. Transporters may have been unable to ‘gate in’ cattle to JBS feedlots.  This means there could be backlogs of cattle and potential logistics issues for livestock carriers already in the process of transporting, or already holding cattle for delivery.
2. Container transport fleets and domestic transport companies may have been unable to make deliveries due to no orders being processed.
3. Shipments could have been cancelled due to no available export documentation or customs filing systems.
4. Export shipments currently in terminals may have been removed as paperwork may have been unable to be lodged. This could have resulted in additional costs for transport/removal fees and container detention charges from shipping lines.
5. Shipments currently on order may have been unable to be cleared due to payment or documentation transfers also being held up.
6. Large scale customers, such as fast food chains and supermarkets, may run short on product due to their consistent high need for supply.
7. The disruption to the supply chain may have caused an increased level of stock to be held in cold rooms, freezers and warehouses.  Reminder: sums insured need to reflect, or be increased, in these circumstances.  

If you or your clients would like to find out more about marine and cargo risks, you can contact Kurt directly at kurtherron@nti.com.au or via NTI’s Better Business Hub.