Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 6/7/21

A group of security analysts warned the Agriculture Department in late May that cyber threats such as ransomware could wreak havoc on America’s vulnerable food and agriculture system. Less than two weeks later, the threat became reality when Russian criminals hacked meatpacking giant JBS, shutting down slaughterhouses that process nearly a quarter of the nation’s beef supply.

The ransomware attack could be a wake up call for an industry that hasn’t kept up with cyber safety, and the federal officials who neglected to set strict cybersecurity standards for food and agriculture businesses — despite years of warnings — your host and POLITICO’s Martin Matishak write.

How we got here: Food producers have long prized efficiency over all else. But the rise of high-tech farming and faster processing has raised the system’s exposure to digital threats. The government has put forth mostly voluntary rules for food and ag businesses, and the industry itself disbanded an information-sharing collective created to coordinate on cyberattacks.

Writing on the wall: Federal agencies from DHS to the FBI and cybersecurity firms such as CrowdStrike have all sounded the alarm in recent years. After the JBS hack, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack acknowledged that disruptive attacks are a “new reality” for the food system.

— The prescient warning to USDA in May came from the University of Minnesota’s Food Protection and Defense Institute, which noted that cyberattacks on the food system could have bigger implications than wobbling grocery prices.

— Worst-case scenarios? Hacks could potentially lead to the sale of tainted food to the public, financial ruin for producers, or even injury and death among workers at food processing plants, the institute said.

What to do: Cybersecurity experts say there needs to be better cyber safety education for industry leaders and employees, minimum standards or even federal subsidies for companies making costly upgrades to their cyber defenses.