As food and agriculture companies increasingly enter the crosshairs of government-backed hackers, with everything from animal health to crop innovation on the line, the sector's new cybersecurity collaboration group has had to grow fast.
For many years, cyberattacks were low on the food industry's priority list. Executives focused on more obvious industry problems, like sickened cows and wheat spoilage. But eventually, ransomware attacks and nation-state espionage became too disruptive to ignore. In May 2023, major industry players including PepsiCo, Tyson Foods, Cargill and Conagra teamed up to form the Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center, filling a void that experts had described as uniquely dangerous.
Two years into the food ISAC's work, the organization finds itself busier than ever, as it helps companies protect the U.S. food supply from cyberattacks that could have devastating consequences for the food supply chain. Victims in the sector have included Dole, Mondelēz, Sysco and United Natural Foods, as well as dairy giant HP Hood, which had to shut down manufacturing plants after a 2022 breach.
"There's a lot of attention being paid to cybersecurity now within the industry," Scott Algeier, the executive director of the food ISAC, told Cybersecurity Dive. "There's a lot of issues that grab people's attention in this space, and in the past, I think cybersecurity hasn't always risen to the top. We're seeing that change."
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