Cyberattacks have hit pipelines, meat industry and more. Is the pandemic to blame?

The northern Australian offices of JBS Foods is seen during sunset in Dinmore, west of Brisbane, on June 1, 2021, after the US subsidiary of the world's largest meat processing companies said it had been hacked, paralysing some of its operations and impacting thousands of workers in Australia. — AFP

In May, Colonial Pipeline — which supplies nearly half of the East Coast's fuel — learned it was hit by a cyberattack.

The attack, which feds say was carried about by the ransomware group DarkSide, forced the company to shut down its 5,500-mile pipeline system that stretches from Texas to New Jersey. In response, drivers in the Southeast rushed to fill their cars with gas — drying up gas stations across the region and sparking a fuel shortage.