Farmers and ranchers from more than 30 states attended the 2024 Agriculture Threats Symposium hosted by the Omaha, Nebraska FBI field office. Technology continues advancing to make farming and agriculture more efficient across rural America.
FBI Agent Gene Kowel says that with more technology, there’s more potential for cyber-attacks that could affect the entire agriculture industry. In particular, four major threats to watch for include criminal ransomware attacks, foreign adversaries stealing data, the potential for them to implant malware on industrial control systems and farming machinery, and lastly, the threat of bioterrorism.
“People can take steps at ground level,” he says. “One is basic cyber hygiene like having multi-factor authentication for any kind of system.”
Another is being willing to report any kind of attack to law enforcement. The more farmers and ranchers do that, Kowel says law enforcement has a better chance of being able to protect the entire industry.