Part of the responsibilities of these centers will be to “conduct research on cybersecurity systems for the agriculture sector, including developing cybersecurity situational awareness systems to monitor cybersecurity threats, intrusions, and anomalies,” the bill says.
Another step is to conduct attack and defense exercises to ensure cybersecurity systems and tested prior to deployment.
The bill also targets specific countries of concern when it comes to cybersecurity in ag.
These regional centers will be tasked with ensuring American ag is protected from digital threats originating from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran, among others.
“America’s adversaries are seeking to exploit agricultural technologies and jeopardize our national security. As North Carolina’s top industry, I have seen the benefits that precision technology has on increasing agricultural output and boosting exports, but it takes just one bad actor to stop our producers from feeding America,” Sen. Budd said in a statement.
Agriculture is vulnerable to attacks
As industry becomes increasingly digitized and interconnected, hackers have a way to disrupt operations.
“Advanced farming techniques like precision farming have led to an increase in the volume of data at risk, further broadening the sector's vulnerability to breaches,” the USDA’s Grain Inspection Advisory Committee wrote in May 2024. “The use of AI tools in farming, such as smart collars for livestock monitoring and automated decision-making systems, brings a new area with potential for cyber-attacks.”
U.S. ag has experienced cyberattacks in recent years.
This past June, for example, Dairy Farmers of America revealed multiple manufacturing plants experienced ransomware attacks.
In September 2021, after four cyberattacks already took place, the FBI warned companies in the food and ag sectors of possible ransomware attacks.
And in 2020, hackers targeted the U.S. government, including the USDA’s National Finance Center, which provides human resources, financial, and administrative resources.