If you are familiar with agribusiness, the answer is a resounding yes. Cyberattacks are threatening the bottom line of this huge business sector. In this BlogBytes article, we will examine the vulnerability of agriculture supply chains to cyber threats and how LTO technology can play a crucial role in helping to keep food on the table.
The agribusiness has gone full throttle digitizing business processes and in doing so has opened up this massive industry to threats and attacks from cyber-criminals. Organizations across the agriculture commerce spectrum are employing technology like automation for farming activities, irrigation machinery, the supply block chain, and AI to enhance processes, but, in doing so, it makes them ripe for cyber extortions.
FOOD SUPPLY IS HELD FOR RANSOM
As highlighted in a swineweb.com article, “In 2023, agriculture ranked as the seventh most targeted industry for ransomware attacks.” The article highlights an “$11 million ransomware attack on JBS, one of the world’s largest meat processors, and the $10.5 million cyberattack on Dole”, a multinational agricultural food corporation. Not only are these types of attacks costly, but they have also caused shipment delays and disruption to food supply chains.
The swineweb.com article explains that cyberattacks on agribusiness can cause:
- Direct financial losses from ransom payments, fraud or theft.
- Operational downtime, delaying production and distribution.
- Supply chain disruptions affecting downstream businesses and consumers.
- Regulatory fines and legal repercussions for failing to protect sensitive customer and supplier data.
- Loss of consumer trust in food safety and supply chain reliability.
PROTECTION STRATEGIES ARE A MUST
Will cyberattacks cause the price of eggs and other food items to increase? We hope not. Structural changes and protection strategies are needed to strengthen the digital infrastructure and cyber security defenses to protect livestock, crops, supply chain, employees, and data systems. Swineweb.com lists several protective practices that can be utilized by agribusinesses, including:
- Conduct regular security audits
- Employee training and awareness
- Secure supply chain partners
- Adopt blockchain and AI for security
- Invest in cybersecurity infrastructure
But while the article has some useful suggestions for how companies can boost their cybersecurity defenses, one recommendation they have overlooked is to create a secure, offline airgap using LTO tape technology and place copies of your critical business data behind it!
Investing in a multilayered cybersecurity infrastructure, which includes LTO is paramount to defending against cyber intruders. Statistics show that a cyberattack is likely to occur; therefore, protecting key layers of the infrastructure, especially the organization’s digital assets, is essential.
Storing critical data offline on LTO tape technology puts data out of reach from digital intruders. When an LTO data cartridge is removed from the tape drive, it is offline, preventing access by online data thieves and ransomware marauders. In the event that online information is compromised the offline LTO data tape can be used to restore critical operations helping to keep agribusiness processes rolling.
In addition, LTO technology supports data encryption to further protect important data assets if data cartridges fall into the wrong hands.
Protecting digital assets against cyber threats is now a non-stop pursuit for agribusiness and organizations in other sectors. Many firms are considering cyber insurance as added protection against cyber risks. Get more information about cyber insurance here.
