Bundsystems

Meat Processing Company, JBS pays Ransom to stop Cyber-Attack

The largest meat processing company, JBS have decided to pay the equivalent of £7.8m ($11m) in ransom demanded from them by hackers who attacked the company last week.

The meat giant opted to pay the ransom in order to put an end to the major cyber-attack which saw them temporarily shut down some operations in Australia, US and Canada.

According to reports, the ransom was paid using Bitcoin after JBS plants had come back online. The company disclosed that paying the ransom was a necessity in order to protect its customers.

The attack which hit the company last week originated when hackers broke into the JBS computer network and threatened to cause disruption and even delete files unless a ransom in cryptocurrency was paid.

JBS Chief Executive revealed that the decision to pay the ransom was an extremely difficult one for the company, adding that the money was paid because of the sophistication of the attack.

Investigators have disclosed that the attack is linked to a group with ties to Russia. The White House has also supported these claims.

JBS is one of the largest food processing companies in the world and are responsible for producing factory processed beef, pork, chicken and more.

Bitcoin drops below $50,000 over fears of Tax Hike

Over fears of the US government hiking of taxes in the nearest future; Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were deep in the red in the early hours of Friday.

The world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin saw a drop below $50,000 per coin for the first time since the month of March.

According to the trading platform CoinDesk, bitcoin was down with over 9% at $49,759 on Friday with the second largest cryptocurrency, Ether dropping more than 12% at $2,263 per token.

This is following a steep drop in US stocks as financial markets were hit with worries over tax hikes on Thursday following reports that Biden's administration intends to raise capital gain taxes.

According to this report, the White House has proposed to raise capital gains taxes from 20% to 39.6% for people earning more than $1 million per annum coupled with an additional levy that high-income earners pay to fund the Affordable Care Act.

Investors in cryptocurrencies fear that higher capital gains taxes would affect the currencies like bitcoin by limiting its demand which over the past months have risen dramatically.

Apple to stop production of iMac Pro

American multinational tech giants, Apple have announced that they will stop the production of the iMac Pro computer which was once the most powerful computer offered by the firm.

According to Apple; once the existing stock for the iMac Pro runs out, it will no longer be available. However, those looking to get their hands on the iMac Pro for the limited time can purchase the $4,999 standard model device on Apple's website.

The iMac Pro was released in 2017 and was at the time, deemed "the most powerful Mac ever made". The all-in-one computer featured advanced capabilities for graphics and 3D rendering, however, it has not gotten any major updates over the past few years.

According to reports, Apple is gearing up to release new iMacs this year to replace its 21.5inches and 27inches models.

Security Firm, Verkada begins investigation into hack of 150000 Cameras

A US security firm, Verkada has begun investigating a massive hack reported to have affected 150,000 of its security cameras.

The California-based firm disclosed that it was investigating the scale and scope of the hack after hackers claimed to have breached the security company that provides cameras to other firms such as popular electric car maker, Tesla and more.

According to a report by Bloomberg; stolen footages from the cameras included the insides of schools, hospitals and businesses.

Verkada revealed that the case has been reported to the appropriate authorities, however, it did not confirm the size and scale of the reported attack. According to the firm, hackers were able to view videos from inside psychiatric hospitals, women's health clinic, prisons and even offices of Verkada itself.

Companies such as Tesla and software providers, Cloudfare also had their footages exposed in the attack.

One of the footage from a camera inside a hospital in Florida reportedly showed eight hospital staff tackling and pinning a man to a bed. Another footage showed officers in a Massachusetts police station questioning a man in handcuffs whereas another showed people working in an assembly line inside a Tesla warehouse in Shanghai.

Verkada will no doubt be working tirelessly to ensure this breach does not occur again.

Taiwan Chip supply halted by Drought as US demands more

Production of chips in Taiwan has been halted following drought in the East Asian country that has affected water supplies in factories amidst the growing demand for these chips.

Lockdowns experienced around the world have led to a high demand for technology such as game consoles & laptops.

Car makers are finding it hard to source chips which is a key component as new vehicles can come packed with over 100 microprocessors.

Earlier this month, chief executive of GM disclosed that the shortage could cost it $2bn (£1.4bn) in profits. Ford and other car companies also revealed that the shortage of chips had affected the production of cars and lorries.

United States president, Joe Biden has also signed an executive order requesting for a 100-day review to increase the production of chips domestically in the long run.

Taiwan which is one of the biggest producers of chips in the world has promised to help the US, Japan and Germany by speeding up manufacture but now faces restrictions in achieving this due to the drought.

Several chip companies in the country such as United Microelectronics and TSMC have indicated they will begin using lorries to supply water. According to TSMC, it needs 156000 tonnes of water per day.

Coca-Cola set to trial its first Paper Bottles

The Coca-Cola Company has revealed it is set to begin the trial of its first paper bottles in its bid to eliminate plastic from its packaging on the long run.

The American company disclosed that the goal is to create a 100% recyclable, plastic-free bottle that is capable of preventing the escape of gas from carbonated drinks. This bottle must also ensure that no fibers fall into the liquid which could pose a risk to health & safety checks as well as alteration of the drink's taste.

The prototype for the paper bottle is made from an extra-strong paper shell that contains a thin plastic liner by Danish company, Paboco (Paper Bottling Company).

Last year, the Coca-Cola company was ranked the number one plastic polluter in the world by charity group, Break Free from Plastic.

Paboco has revealed that part of the challenge of producing an appropriate paper-based container is to create a structure capable of withstanding the forces exerted by fizzy drinks such as beer & cola which are bottled under pressure. Also, the paper needs to be moldable in order to create distinct bottle shapes & sizes for different brands as well as accommodate ink for printing their labels.

After over 7 years of lab work; the firm is set to host a trial this summer in Hungary with Coca-Cola's fruit drink, Adez which will involve 2000 bottles being distributed via a local retail chain. Also, Absolut (vodka-maker) is also set to test 2000 paper bottles of its pre-mixed carbonated raspberry drink in the UK and Sweden.

Carlsberg which is a beer company is also building prototypes for its paper beer bottle.