In recent years, cybersecurity has been an important issue that people are concerned about. However, experts and U.S. lawmakers have pointed out that agriculture is a sector often overlooked in discussions on cybersecurity. The risks of cyber attacks on agriculture vehicles and infrastructure are on the rise.
Jose-Marie Griffiths, the president of South Dakota State University, told Fox News that the U.S. Midwest, known as the “Heartland,” has become increasingly important in geopolitics.
Meanwhile, several South Dakotans are set to join the Trump administration or take on key leadership roles, including Republican U.S. Senator Mike Rounds from South Dakota, who will chair the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity.
Griffiths stated, “In my past testimonies, I’ve expressed concerns about the critical infrastructure of agriculture and food production, issues that have been late to enter discussions on cybersecurity.”
“People are beginning to realize that the agricultural vehicles they are using are becoming more automated and connected to broadband networks via satellites, making them vulnerable to attacks,” she said. “Those who wish to harm us are exploiting these vulnerabilities as much as possible.”
Both Griffiths and Rounds expressed that with advancements in technology, hackers can now find ways to penetrate networks of harvesting machines, warehouses, and nationwide freight trains.
Rounds emphasized that China’s telecommunications giant Huawei has been selling cheap equipment to rural American telecommunications companies, potentially leading to system infiltrations.
He stated that every effort is being made to identify and remove any equipment that may pose threats in the future.
Rounds also highlighted the increasing use of drones in agriculture, which also face risks of being hacked. With significant technological advances in vehicles like harvesters and tractors, they encounter similar challenges.
“Many tasks are now being carried out using GPS. You get into a tractor, turn it on, and it basically drives itself,” he said. “People currently sit in the tractor, but at some point, some tractors are likely to become automated and susceptible to cyber attacks.”
Rounds warned that grain elevators could also be compromised, disrupting marketing, transportation, further endangering supply chains, and impacting the market sales of agricultural products.
He added, “In the future, there will be more and more autonomous agricultural vehicles. When we lack sufficient manpower, machines will replace human labor. Machines will become larger, more sophisticated, and fewer operators will be required to perform more tasks.”
Rounds cautioned that if these new equipment experiences malfunctions or are hacked, it could significantly disrupt the supply of raw materials.