Last week’s Commodity Classic wrapped up with a series of presentations and words of caution from federal security officials about the vulnerability of agriculture to terrorism and cybercrime.
As part of the Saturday morning session, Wade Greening with the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Omaha field office educated producers on the risks of ransomware attacks — where information is stolen by hackers and held for ransom — and the possibility of email compromise that could lead to hefty financial losses.
According to Greening, the average ransom runs about $320,000, and 40% of victims pay it. Email compromise was a $2.5 billion enterprise last year; Greening said he was personally aware of $2.5 million lost in the Iowa and Nebraska ag sectors in the previous 45 days alone, including one $750,000 loss.
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He advises contacting the FBI as soon as possible and said victims have a 73% chance of getting their money back if they contact the FBI within 72 hours of a problematic transaction.
Other presenters encouraged producers to monitor their farms, grocery stores, processing facilities, and transportation systems for any suspicious activity including cargo tampering, a new strain of a disease, unexplained equipment purchase or rental — especially of sprayer equipment, or heightened surveillance by outside entities. Officials said those could all be indicators of possible threats.
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