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K-State expert reminds farmers to watch their cybersecurity on the farm.

August 11, 2022

2 Min Read
Woman farmer controlling drone in field
CYBERSECURITY: You close and lock barn doors and pasture gates to keep your property secured. You need to do the same for your farm data as well, says Terry Griffin, Kansas State University cropping systems economist. He says the cybersecurity of data that farmers collect on their crops and livestock is increasingly important. Scharfsinn86/Getty images

The terms “cybersecurity” and “cyber insurance” are more than just concepts in the agriculture industry, says Terry Griffin, Kansas State University cropping systems economist.

He says the agricultural industry is becoming more digital, so adaptable cybersecurity — or, the protection of computer systems from information disclosure or theft, or damage to hardware, software or electronic data — is more important than ever.

“As a producer, we have to think about who [our] biggest threat is potentially,” Griffin says. “The Kansas farmland market is fierce, but not as fierce as in Illinois — so the biggest threat to a Kansas farmer could be seen as a different entity.”

Griffin says cybersecurity risk depends on the location and risk preference of the farmer, and who they see as their biggest threat. This could be as simple as someone getting a copy of data or insights, or data becoming inaccessible to the farmer.

“There could be solar flares that impact space weather that can adversely affect GPS,” he says. “In that event, we could be at a disadvantage during planting because there might not be row markers on the large planters anymore.”

Cybersecurity breach could affect harvest

He said such a situation can also affect harvest, because farmers won’t be able to log data.

Griffin said time is of the essence when a cybersecurity breach is detected, and if farmers decide to not plant and wait a day because the GPS is down — or they can’t control the overlaps — it could have negative implications, such as lower yields.

There are currently no state or federal laws that cover cybersecurity for farms. Griffin suggests a couple ideas to protect farm data:

  • Treat farm data as a trade secret.

  • Have employees sign a nondisclosure agreement.

  • Change passwords quarterly.

  • Make sure when an employee leaves that their connections to farm data has been stopped.

“There are some actionable things that farm operators can do to show that their data has value,” Griffin says. “These are some best management practices for data management.”

He said farmers should build up these practices over time so that they become habit.

Source: Kansas State Research and Extension is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.

 

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