The FBI has previously warned the ag community about cyberattacks
Members of the ag community concerned about cybersecurity are invited to participate in a free webinar.
Horizon Farm Credit and Farm Credit East are hosting the webinar on Jan. 15 at 11am to help farmers and agribusinesses protect their personal data from hackers.
Cybersecurity expert John Sileo will lead the presentation.
The webinar will provide insight on the primary root cause of successful cyberattacks, common technological vulnerabilities and how to solve them, and how AI, deep fakes and disinformation contribute to these attacks.
As agriculture becomes more digital, the industry is more susceptible to cyberattacks.
A report from Check Point Research, for example, discovered a 101 percent increase in cyber incidents within the world’s ag sector between August 2024 and August 2025.
The report documented the global ag industry experienced an average of 1,667 cyberattacks per week – or more than 86,000 attacks annually.
And digital infrastructure safety in agriculture isn’t viewed as a priority yet.
“Many agricultural organizations invest less in cyber security compared to other sectors, leaving critical systems vulnerable to attacks,” the report says. “As a result, threat actors view agriculture as both a lucrative and strategic target. Disrupting food production can lead to immediate financial losses, threaten food security, and even be used as a geopolitical weapon.”
Law enforcement officials have issued cybersecurity warnings to the ag sector in the past.
In 2022, for example, the FBI reminded those working in ag to take necessary data safety precautions.
Hackers “may be more likely to attack agricultural cooperatives during critical planting and harvest seasons, disrupting operations, causing financial loss and negatively impacting the food supply chain,” the FBI said in an April 20 Private Industry Notification.
Anyone interested in attending the webinar must register. The presentation is open to anyone in the ag community.
The webinar will not be recorded.