Reuters: JBS USA, subsidiary of Brazilian firm JBS SA (JBSS3.SA), confirmed in a statement on Wednesday the company paid the equivalent of $11 million in ransom in response to a criminal hack against its operations.

The world’s largest meat producer canceled shifts at its U.S. and Canadian meat plants last week after JBS said it was hit with a crippling cyberattack that threatened to disrupt food supply chains and inflate food prices.

“This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally,” JBS USA CEO Andre Nogueira said in a statement. “However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers.”

The company said it paid the ransom to “mitigate any unforeseen issues related to the attack and ensure no data was exfiltrated.”

According to the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, ransomware is a type of malware that shuts down a company’s computer infrastructure with hackers demanding payment to unlock the system.

Earlier this month, the FBI attributed the infiltration to Russia-based hackers.

JBS said it was in constant contact with federal officials, and while investigations are ongoing, “preliminary investigation results confirm that no company, customer or employee data was compromised.”

The company said it spends $200 million annually on IT services.

JBS is not the first company to recently pay ransom to cybercriminals based in Russia. JBS said its ability to resolve the issues resulting from the attack was “due to its cybersecurity protocols, redundant systems, and encrypted backup servers.” Additionally, the company employs more than 850 IT professionals around the world. JBS maintained that no company, customer, or employee data was compromised.

Bloomberg:

It also halted slaughter operations across Australia and idled one of Canada’s largest beef plants. The FBI has attributed the incident to REvil, a hacking group that researchers say has links to Russia.

The global shutdowns upended agricultural markets and raised concerns about food security as hackers increasingly target critical infrastructure. Operations have returned to normal levels and the company expected lost production to be fully recovered by the end of this week.

In its latest statement, JBS said the vast majority of the company’s facilities were operational at the time of payment. It had made the decision to “mitigate any unforeseen issues related to the attack and ensure no data was exfiltrated” in consultation with internal IT professionals and third-party cybersecurity experts.

JBS added it has maintained constant communications with government officials throughout the incident, and that third-party forensic investigations are still ongoing.

In part from USA Today: GUATEMALA CITY – Vice President Kamala Harris, during a trip to Guatemala, announced initiatives Monday to address corruption and human trafficking in Central America and urged people from the region not to come to the U.S.-Mexican border. Harris announced that a task force would be created to work with the Justice, Treasury, and State Departments to investigate corruption in the region. U.S. officials will train law enforcement in Guatemala to conduct their own investigations.

Joint Task Force Alpha was established to enhance U.S. law enforcement efforts against human smuggling and trafficking groups in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

“I have personally worked on these cases in my career and can say that when we see some of the most vulnerable in our communities being taken advantage of, being sold for profit, being abused, it should be a priority for all of us who care about the human condition and humanity,” Harris said.

“Corruption really does sap the wealth of any country and in Central America is at a scale where it is a large percentage of GDP across the region,” said Ricardo Zuniga, the State Department’s special envoy for the Northern Triangle. “We see corruption as one of the most important root causes to be dealt with.”

Part of the strategy to slow the pace of migration is creating better living conditions and economic opportunities for people in the region through investment. Last month, Harris secured the commitment of 12 U.S. companies and organizations – including MasterCard, Microsoft, and Chobani – to invest in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

From the DOJ:

“Transnational human smuggling and trafficking networks pose a serious criminal threat,” said Attorney General Garland. “These networks profit from the exploitation of migrants and routinely expose them to violence, injury, and death. The joint efforts we are announcing today will combine investigative, prosecutorial, and capacity-building efforts of both the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security. Our focus will remain on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, or endanger migrants, pose national security threats, and are involved in organized crime. Together, we will combat these threats where they originate and operate.”

In addition to the work of the Joint Task Force, Attorney General Garland directed the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT) and the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), in coordination with the State Department, to enhance the assistance provided to counterparts in the Northern Triangle countries and Mexico to support their efforts to prosecute smuggling and trafficking networks in their own courts.