|
 |
|
|
|||
|
 |
|
Aug. 14, 2024 Source: KETV, Omaha, NE OMAHA, Neb. -- Farmers and ranchers from over 30 states made their way to Omaha for the 2024 Agriculture Threats Symposium hosted by the FBI Omaha field office. As technology continues to advance, it's made farming and agriculture easier and more efficient all around the United States. But, with more technology comes the potential for cyber-attacks that could affect the entire agriculture industry. The main focus of the symposium is to make farmers and ranchers aware of the national security risk facing agriculture in the U.S. "It demonstrates really that we are at the epicenter of the need to protect this area, but we know that agriculture certainly goes beyond Nebraska and the Midwest, it goes to the entire country," Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue said. McHargue says being aware of potential cyber-attacks is important; it doesn't just affect farmers in Nebraska. Any disruption in the Midwest would also affect the entire community. "Any type of major disruption would trickle down through our grocery stores and the people providing gas in our rural areas and even the school systems. So, we're not only protecting agriculture, we're protecting our rural communities and these kinds of conversations will help us do this better," McHargue said. FBI Special Agent in Charge Gene Kowel says there are four major threats to watch out for. Those include criminal ransomware attacks, foreign adversaries stealing data and the potential for them to implant malware on industrial control systems and farming machinery, and lastly, the threat of bioterrorism. "It's a very complex topic but there are steps people can take on the ground level, one is just basic cyber hygiene, having multi-factor authentication for any kind of system. Two, is awareness. The greater degree that our farmers, our producers, our ranchers are aware of this and are willing to come to law enforcement and report it, the greater degree we can protect the entire industry," Kowel said. It's an issue the American Farm Bureau says isn't talked about enough. "We need to be prepared, without the knowledge and understanding comes fear and we don't need to be fearful, we need to be preparing ourselves and taking on the knowledge of how we handle this and get through any situation that might face our farmers," President of the American Farm Bureau Zippy Duvall said. Tweet |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
