Opinion – Thomas Hall, Director Agtech and Logistics Hub
The growing adoption of data-driven agtech is yielding benefits in profitability and productivity but has also sowed the seeds of a new challenge for growers and producers – cyber security.
Getting hacked is now high up on the list of major threats to the Australian agricultural industry alongside long-standing risks like drought, pest infestation, water insecurity and rising energy costs.
The digital revolution in agriculture has made the sector highly vulnerable to cyber attacks that have the potential to cause massive disruption to agribusinesses and food production.
In fact, statistics show that during the 2019-2020 financial year that agriculture was the sixth most likely sector in Australia to record a data breach.
So, as we celebrate Queensland Agtech Month and National Agricultural Day this November it’s important to discuss the cyber security risks that come with the growing adoption of agtech.
The unfortunate reality is that cyber criminals see agriculture as a soft target because little investment has been made in cyber security despite a surge in digital technologies within the sector.
Computerised agricultural machinery and systems give hackers the means to access important business information including financials, customer information, data, and production systems.
Cyber criminals can hack into tractor GPS systems, drones, remote sensor technology, unencrypted radio frequency equipment including signal boosters and identification tags, and autonomous machinery to name a few.
Despite the genuine and growing risk of being hacked, many agribusinesses aren’t doing enough to protect their operations.
A recent survey of more than 1000 agricultural operations found they were underprepared for cyber attacks. Only one in six respondents said they had a cyber security incident response plan and most said they didn’t know where to go for help after an attack.
When farmers adopt data-driven agtech they are more likely to be thinking about how it will improve productivity, profitability, and sustainability, rather than ‘where is my data going to be stored and will it be protected?’
While cyber security is known about, it’s simply not front of mind for many agribusinesses when implementing internet-connected technologies. But it needs to be, given data breaches and other forms of cyber attacks can cost companies tens of thousands of dollars through extortion, fines for privacy breaches, loss of customer trust and reputational damage.
In June 2020, dairy processor and drink manufacturer Lion temporarily shut down production, leading to beer shortages, due to a cyber attack.
Then in May last year, global meat processing company JBS paid about US$11 million to a criminal gang to end a five-day cyber attack that brought its operations around the world to a grinding halt. The group behind the attack reportedly said they will continue to target the agriculture sector and its supply chains.
It’s frightening stuff. According to security services provider, Aliva, many insurance companies are sending questionnaires to assess the technical capability of a business before they agree to underwrite or renew cyber insurance. For businesses which have no cyber protection, insurance providers are refusing coverage.
Aliva is among the companies that will deliver a presentation at a meeting for farmers at the Agtech and Logistics Hub on 24 November.
The Hub has teamed up with AgForce to host the meeting which will help farmers with agtech adoption, including the need to protect themselves from the risk of cyber attacks.
It’s well and truly time for the agricultural industry to boot up and stamp on this significant growing threat.
This piece was originally published in the November edition of Queensland Farmer Today