The CEO of Brazilian meat processor JBS said the company paid $11 million in bitcoin to ransomware extortionists to prevent any further disruption, an article in the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The JBS meat placing plant is viewed in Plainwell, Michigan on June 2, 2021. (File photo: AFP)

"It was very painful to pay the criminals, but we did the right thing for our customers," Andre Nogueira told the paper.