You may have heard about Russian hacking into U.S. computers, but what you may not know is the potential impact hacking could have on U.S. agriculture, according to a professor at Auburn University.

“The Russian government and military are quietly probing our nation’s computer systems that control our critical infrastructures,” says Bob Norton, chair of the Auburn University Food System Institute’s Food and Water Defense Working Group.

Hackers can gain access to private, corporate and governmental computer systems by taking advantage of vulnerabilities in those systems, and often preying upon unsuspecting users. “Their goals are to learn how our systems work, find out which larger networks are connected to them and to locate their weaknesses and defenses,” Norton explains.

The victims of these attacks may not even be aware that their systems are affected. The concern is that these systems can be accessed or malware activated later, should hostilities with the U.S. occur.

“These clandestine probing efforts could be weaponized to shut down computer systems and even destroy the power grid, the food supply chain, water plants and wastewater plants,” Norton says. “Equipment associated with farm operations, processing plants, irrigation and other operations could become targets.”

Criminals sanctioned by the Russian government or members of the Russian government or military, steal credentials, proprietary information and carry out identity theft, according to Norton. The most likely scenario would be for malware to destroy industrial control systems, which would cause food production to come to a screeching halt, at least temporarily.

Follow these best practices

While the private sector cannot directly impact the security of corporate and government computer systems, a general knowledge of cybersecurity best practices for all computer users is important because of the prominence of hacking and phishing attacks. Here are some steps you can take to identify and mitigate common issues:

Other beneficial ways to prevent hacking include keeping your router software updated, avoiding making transactions on public WiFi networks, maintaining and using reputable software, using a firewall and encrypting files before sharing them.

The only way to prevent and combat these attacks is for individuals, businesses and governmental entities to take online security seriously. It only takes one successful phishing attempt on an individual or system with significant control or information to cause extensive harm.

Are you concerned about online security threats? Tell us about it in the comments below, on Twitter via @nerdsquawkor send me an email at [email protected]

The opinions of the author are not necessarily those of Farm Futures or Farm Progress.