As the agri-food sector increasingly embraces automation with GPS, robotic systems, cloud-connected devices, and AI-driven tools to boost efficiency and crop yields, cyber risks have been rapidly escalating. With ransomware attacks as the primary threat, the food and agriculture sector ranks as the seventh most targeted industry in the United States, just behind sectors like manufacturing and financial services.

Many of the technologies driving the digital transformation in food and agriculture were designed long before cyberattacks became a serious concern, leaving critical vulnerabilities throughout the supply chain. With these systems not built to withstand modern threats, the sector has become a prime target for cyber-criminals.

FBI Special Agent Gene Kowel, in a speech at the bureau’s second annual Agriculture Threats Symposium in Nebraska in August emphasized that “The cyber risk and national security threat to farms, ranches, and food processing facilities is growing exponentially. The threats are evolving, becoming more complex and severe.”

Cory Brandolini, co-founder of Railtown, a software company specializing in AI-powered solutions for developer best practices and productivity, stresses that food production has become one of the most automated industries in the world.

“We’re seeing robotic systems managing farms, automated feeding systems for livestock, and even AI-based optimization tools to improve crop yields. But all this automation brings significant cyber risk if Infrastructure leaks or PII leaks (Personal Identifiable Information) within the underlying software that are not constantly protected. Imagine if a hacker could tamper with the feeding schedules for livestock or the storage temperatures for perishable goods; that’s not just an inconvenience, that could lead to massive financial losses and food scarcity.”

Source: https://www.forbes.com/