cybersecurity

There were 84 ransomware attacks against the food and agriculture sector during the first three months of 2025, more than twice the number of intrusions during the same period last year.  More than 75% of the intrusions were recorded in January and February, with ransomware already accounting for 53% of all cyberattacks against the industry during the quarter, according to a report from the Food a

Cybercrime might seem like something in a big city or a spy novel, but it happens in rural America.  The Federal Trade Commission recently reported another record year of fraud losses totaling $12.5 billion by American consumers.  The losses affect people of all ages, but older Americans lost the most, and many don’t have the means to rebuild their nest eggs.  The AARP’s Sean Voskuhl...

Food giant Dole said it recently was hit by a cyberattack that was determined to be ransomware.  Industrial Cyber said the attack disrupted the company’s operations and resulted in the temporary shutdown of production plants. It temporarily halted the company’s food shipments to stores.    Accor...

The FBI’s cyber division is warning agricultural cooperatives across the country to be wary of possible cyberattacks. The division wants cooperatives to take all possible precautions to keep their operations safe. The FBI says ransomware attacks typically happen on ag cooperatives during the critical planting and harvest seasons. ...

The beef industry has had to address, and overcome, some very unique circumstances and challenges over the past two years. How has is the industry doing and getting the beef supply chain back to normal? "Beef cattle system responded remarkably well ...

The Memorial Day weekend cyber-attack on the world's largest meat processor impacted U.S. facilities and created a ripple effect along the supply chain. " caused disruptions to supply chains, logistics, and transportation to customers. And it increased consumer prices]Which has raised questions how to prevent similar events from occurring," said Jennifer van de Ligt of the University of

Ransomware attacks have become a part of everyday life, for small business and large businesses alike, and that includes major Ag and food interests like JBS. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack warns that Agriculture must be prepared. JBS reportedly paid $11 million in ransom to hackers, just weeks after Colonial Pipeline paid $4 million ...

With cyberattacks against JBS and Colonial pipeline in the news, USDA is stepping up its data security efforts. "We are having conversations, I just had one yesterday about how we are going to ensure that we have a strong system within USDA that we can bolster the capacity to make our systems strong," noted Deputy Agriculture Secretary Jewel Bronaugh ...

The USDA announced recently plant to invest $4 billion to strengthen critical supply chains.  "Historically we've had a very efficient system, but efficiency comes at a price. And that price is a lack of resilience when you have a major disruption," said Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack. "W ...

The FBI is investigating, and the Chair of the House Agriculture Committee wants to know if Russia was behind the recent ransomware attack on JBS USA. Chairman David Scott said the “cowardly hacking” of critical U.S. “food, energy, and financial systems must be stopped,” and Russia must be held “accountable” if it’s somehow involved. While the House Ag Committee Chairman h ...