Now, farmers can even use drone technology without having to transverse countless acres. They can monitor the movements, feeding, and even chewing patterns of every cow in their herd. However, a greater reliance on technology could endanger our farmers. More technology means more potential for hacks that might put the food supply chain in danger.
For more such technologies, like automated feeding and watering systems, autonomous soil treatment systems or even smart heat pumps or air conditioners, that enable connecting to the internet – known in the security circles as “endpoints” – there is a risk of their vulnerabilities being exploited by threat actors.
It is crucial that software manufacturers in the agriculture industry give security a high priority in their components and products in order to proactively address these dangers. From the farm to the store, security must be integrated into every step of this supply chain to guarantee that entire systems are kept safe from any potential intrusions. These are not some simple threats, hackers are employing ransomware to target specific farms while jailbreaking tractors. More than 40,000 members of the Union des producteurs agricoles in Quebec were affected by a ransomware attack earlier this month.
However, it could be difficult to stay protected from all sorts of risks, considering the complexity of new technologies and the diversity in applying them all. From enormous refrigeration units to industrial facilities with intricate operations and technology to networked and more autonomous farming equipment, all pose a potential security risk.
In order to minimize the risk, it is important for the endpoints to adopt the latest embedded security protocols and ensure that all the farm devices are updated with the latest security patches.
It is interesting to note that humans proved to be a weak link in the cybersecurity chain. It will be easier to prevent some of the most frequent mistakes that let hostile actors in if businesses practice "cyber hygiene," such as adopting two-factor authentication and creating "long and strong" (and private) passwords for every user. Cybercriminals, unlike farmers, are often fairly sluggish, so even a tiny level of security can make them move their nefarious operations elsewhere.
Moreover, education and a free flow of information turn out to be the best tool to safeguard the entire food supply chain. In order to maintain a reliable and resilient food supply chain, it has been suggested that stakeholders work together in sharing information in regard to the best measures ensuring better cybersecurity standards – which may include software manufacturers, farmers, food processors, retailers and regulators.
