A Review of Cybersecurity Incidents in the Food and Agriculture Sector

TL;DR

This paper reviews 30 cybersecurity incidents in the Food and Agriculture sector from 2011 to 2023, highlighting increasing threats, discussing mitigation frameworks, and proposing an AI assurance framework to support farmers and enhance security.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive review of cybersecurity incidents in the FA sector and introduces the Farmer-Centered AI (FCAI) framework for AI assurance in agriculture.

Findings

Increased frequency of cyber threats in the FA sector.

Discussion of cybersecurity frameworks and agriculture-specific solutions.

Proposal of the FCAI framework to support decision-making and AI assurance.

Abstract

The increasing utilization of emerging technologies in the Food & Agriculture (FA) sector has heightened the need for security to minimize cyber risks. Considering this aspect, this manuscript reviews disclosed and documented cybersecurity incidents in the FA sector. For this purpose, thirty cybersecurity incidents were identified, which took place between July 2011 and April 2023. The details of these incidents are reported from multiple sources such as: the private industry and flash notifications generated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), internal reports from the affected organizations, and available media sources. Considering the available information, a brief description of the security threat, ransom amount, and impact on the organization are discussed for each incident. This review reports an increased frequency of cybersecurity threats to the FA sector. To minimize these cyber risks, popular cybersecurity frameworks and recent agriculture-specific cybersecurity solutions are also discussed. Further, the need for AI assurance in the FA sector is explained, and the Farmer-Centered AI (FCAI) framework is proposed. The main aim of the FCAI framework is to support farmers in decision-making for agricultural production, by incorporating AI assurance. Lastly, the effects of the reported cyber incidents on other critical infrastructures, food security, and the economy are noted, along with specifying the open issues for future development.