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The rising threat of agribusiness cyberattacks

The threat of cyber-attacks in the ag industry is growing, according to a new report from Purdue University. 

Trey Malone, Boehlje Chair in Managerial Economics for Agribusiness at Purdue University, says the complexity of the ag supply chain makes the industry more vulnerable.

“The FBI typically considers us to be a top six most targeted supply chain,” he says. “That is in part because of the in time logistics. There are certain harvest windows. There are certain planting windows. In our industry, you cannot just turn something on and turn something off, which makes us a very high value target for cyber criminals.”

He tells Brownfield, “We’re facing a very uncertain market moving forward, but one thing that we can be certain about is that those cybersecurity attacks will continue to ramp up. That can contribute to direct financial losses from ransom payments or operational downtime is also a massive concern.”

Malone says ag businesses should remain invested in developing a strong security infrastructure and response plan.

AUDIO: Trey Malone, Purdue University