House Republican sounds the alarm on threats to food and agriculture sector | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rep. Brad Finstad, a Minnesota farmer, said the Agriculture Department lacks direction when it comes to protecting the U.S. food supply from hackers.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/food-agriculture-cyber-finstad\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"House Republican sounds the alarm on threats to food and agriculture sector\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rep. Brad Finstad, a Minnesota farmer, said the Agriculture Department lacks direction when it comes to protecting the U.S. food supply from hackers.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/food-agriculture-cyber-finstad\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-30T20:27:49+00:00\"> <meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-30T20:27:50+00:00\"> <meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg\"> <meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\"> <meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\"> <meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\"> <meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christian Vasquez\"> <meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"> <meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@chrismvasq\">  <link 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class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/news\/government\/\"> <span>Government<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Rep. Brad Finstad, a Minnesota farmer, said the Agriculture Department lacks direction when it comes to protecting the U.S. food supply from hackers. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-2.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> Young farmer in a corn field. (Getty Images) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"42.638823251418\"><body readability=\"86.255606523955\"><\/p>\n<p>A top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee warned Thursday about increasing cybersecurity threats to food and agriculture due to growing reliance on technology and a lack of direction by the agency in charge of overseeing the sector.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Brad Finstad, a Minnesota Republican and farmer, noted that people may not be aware just how high-tech agriculture has become over the years in pursuit of increased efficiency. Like many critical infrastructure sectors, the agriculture industry is growing increasingly digital, including precision agriculture that uses the global positioning system or satellite imagery to get a detailed, wide view of the farm.<\/p>\n<p>As an example, Finstad noted that his farm uses GPS-located soil samples in order to test nutrient values.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a country, we have about six days of fresh pork sitting in cold storage,\u201d Finstad said at a <a href=\"https:\/\/securityandtechnology.org\/hack-the-capitol-7-0\/\">Hack the Capitol<\/a> panel in Washington, D.C. \u201cWhat if someone started messing with the temperature of those cold storage facilities? It would devastate us. It would take the number one protein in our diets off the map.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Attacks on the food and agriculture sector don\u2019t always get the same attention as attacks on water or electricity, but a 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/jbs-ransom-11-million-cybercrime\/\">ransomware attack<\/a> on JBS, one of the world\u2019s largest meat suppliers, disrupted its operations and highlighted the potential threat to the nation\u2019s food supply.<\/p>\n<p>Finstad, who chairs the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition, Foreign Agriculture and Horticulture, chided the U.S. Department of Agriculture for lacking direction when it comes to assisting the sector against cybersecurity threats \u2014 which is one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/farm-and-food-cybersecurity-act\/\">reasons he introduced legislation<\/a> to address the issue earlier this year alongside Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.<\/p>\n<p>That bill would require the secretary of agriculture to conduct a study of cybersecurity threats to the agriculture and food sectors and submit it to Congress. Additionally, the bill would create an annual cross-sector exercise simulating a disruptive cyberattack against the food sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgriculture hasn\u2019t had a seat at the table when it comes to some of these threat assessments,\u201d Finstad told CyberScoop on the sidelines of the event.<\/p>\n<p>During a panel discussion Thursday, Finstad discussed the plight of the \u201csmall to midsize folks like me, you know a soil lab, a precision ag farm. I don\u2019t have the infrastructure, the knowledge, or the money to invest in a cybersecurity program \u2026 and so that makes us vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The lack of additional funds for USDA came up on another panel. Mark Montgomery, former executive director of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and senior director at the Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, noted that the department is underfunded to conduct its sector risk management responsibilities, with less than $1 million dedicated to the topic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s be clear: They don\u2019t \u2014 across multiple industries \u2014 give a damn about the sector\u2019s cybersecurity. Because if they gave a damn they\u2019d spend a penny. They don\u2019t spend anything,\u201d Montgomery said of the agency.<\/p>\n<p>Neither the Biden administration\u2019s national cybersecurity plan nor its implementation plan notes initiatives to tackle cyber threats to food and agriculture. One item in the <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/oncd-report-fundamental-transformation-in-cyber-tech-drove-2023-risks\/\">updated implementation plan<\/a> would require the USDA to work with the Environmental Protection Agency to expand a rural water circuit rider program to include cybersecurity technical assistance.<\/p>\n<p>The administration did release a <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/biden-national-security-memorandum-critical-infrastructure\/\">national security memorandum<\/a> specifically for improving the defenses and resilience of the food and agriculture sector.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit of the Wild West still and I think it\u2019s the tip of the iceberg,\u201d Finstad said. \u201cI think people are in a strong need for more education and awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"1.6351791530945\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"9\">\n<div class=\"author-card__avatar\">\n<figure class=\"author-card__image-wrap\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"author-card__image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector-1.jpg?w=640&ssl=1\" alt=\"Christian Vasquez\"> <\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Christian Vasquez<\/h4>\n<p> Christian covers industrial cybersecurity for CyberScoop News. He previously wrote for E&E News at POLITICO covering cybersecurity in the energy sector. Reach out: christian.vasquez at cyberscoop dot com <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-3 ad--rightrail_3 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"popular-stories popular-stories--single-post\">\n<div class=\"popular-stories__container\">\n<h2 class=\"popular-stories__title\"> More Scoops <\/h2>\n<p>  <\/div>\n<p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<section class=\"latest-podcasts\">\n<h2 class=\"latest-podcasts__title\"> Latest Podcasts\t<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"top-categories\">\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Government<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Technology<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"top-categories__container\">\n<h3 class=\"top-categories__category-title\">Geopolitics<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <\/main> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--bottom \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"interstitial\" class=\"welcome__container\"> <button id=\"close-modal-1\" class=\"welcome__clickable_area\"><\/button> <\/p>\n<div class=\"welcome__ad_wrapper\">\n<p> <button id=\"close-modal-3\" class=\"welcome__continue-button\">Continue to CyberScoop<\/button> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>   <\/body> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/food-agriculture-cyber-finstad\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Republican sounds the alarm on threats to food and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2148,1290,1437,117,439],"tags":[2149,1296,1440,119,443],"class_list":["post-3823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","category-department-of-agriculture-usda","category-food-security","category-government","category-policy","tag-agriculture","tag-department-of-agriculture-usda","tag-food-security","tag-government","tag-policy"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","chromenews-featured":"","chromenews-large":"","chromenews-medium":""},"author_info":{"display_name":"Cyber Scoop","author_link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/author\/cyberscoop\/"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/agriculture\/\" rel=\"category tag\">agriculture<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/department-of-agriculture-usda\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Department of Agriculture (USDA)<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/food-security\/\" rel=\"category tag\">food security<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/government\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Government<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/category\/policy\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Policy<\/a>","tag_info":"Policy","comment_count":"0","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":3823,"date":"2024-05-30T15:27:49","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T20:27:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=80607"},"modified":"2024-05-30T15:27:49","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T20:27:49","slug":"house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/05\/30\/house-republican-sounds-the-alarm-on-threats-to-food-and-agriculture-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"House Republican sounds the alarm on threats to food and agriculture sector"},"content":{"rendered":"