(NAFB) Reports of cyberattacks, ransomware, hacking and electronic fraud have become almost commonplace, the United Stated and Canada.
According to Statistics Canada, about 20 percent of all businesses can expect to be hit by a cybersecurity hack at some point. Now it seems that farm operations might be attracting the interest of hackers because fraudsters see farm operations as potentially lucrative targets – often with outdated fraud protection tools in place.
According to a 2021 study at the University of Guelph in Ontario, cyberattacks are on the rise as farmers adopt more internet-based technology for use in daily operations. About a year ago the Ontario Federation of Agriculture implemented an ongoing series of live town-hall and Zoom-style meetings for their 38 thousand members, hosting speakers who specialize in cybercrime prevention.
Cathy Lennon, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture based in Guelph, has been hosting many of those meetings. Lennon says that every single point along the agri-food chain has been hit by a cyber attack because, today, nearly every business is connected to the internet somehow.
Cathy Lennon says there is a misconception that computer system hackers are looking to extort only the bigger commercial businesses for large amounts of money. One particular case stands out for her – an unusual extortion attempt, that did not involve money, was made on a fairly small farm operation in Ontario just last year.
A fundamental and quite simple exercise can be done to help keep cyber-hackers out of your business. According to Ontario Federation of Agriculture’s Cathy Lennon, cybercrime prevention on the farm is as simple as keeping your computer system programs updated.
That’s Cathy Lennon, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.
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Submitted by Micheal Clements on Fri, 03/08/2024 – 12:43
Source: FBRD (Farm Broadcaster)
Audio provided by the NAFB News Service
Audio with Cathy Lennon, general manager of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture
