Global meat processor JBS Foods has paid a $14.2 million ransom to cybercriminals. 

The company paid the money in Bitcoin to end a cyber attack that halted its operations around the world. The attacks meant thousands of workers were sent home from work in abattoirs around Australia.

The company says the gang of cyber-attackers are “one of the most specialised and sophisticated cybercriminal groups in the world”, and that it had to pay to mitigate any unforeseen issues related to the attack and ensure its data was not exfiltrated.

“This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally,” said Andre Nogueira, the chief executive of JBS USA.

“However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers.”

It comes just a few weeks after a similar situation in the US, where a fuel pipeline owner had to pay millions to regain control of its infrastructure. 

Market analyst Matt Dalgleish from Thomas Elder Markets says the moves are fairly surprising. 

“The fact that, A: They paid it, and B: They admitted to it [is surprising], but I guess it's becoming commonplace and they had limited choice,” he said.

“The fact that it's been fairly widely published that they've paid the ransom — I think it does set a dangerous precedent.”

Reports say Australian farmers were largely able to ride through the shutdown, and that the temporary shutdown of abattoirs did not affect livestock prices.