The Three Things You Need to Know to Keep Your Farm Data Safe
Cybercrime has become an increasing threat to today’s farmers. Ransomware and cyberattacks targeting the food and agriculture sector has been on the rise, and unfortunately, no operation, whether large or small, is immune from this risk.
According to dataprise, an IT management and consultant business, the infrastructure in the agriculture industry is becoming more enticing to cybercriminals because the sector has adopted more smart technologies that open doors to other crime opportunities.
Experts warn that as an industry, agriculture has a very soft digital underbelly that’s easily breached due to very limited investment in cybersecurity to date. While it’s easy to think, “That will never happen on my farm,” cyberattacks happen every single day, and they’re creeping into rural America.
Doug Jacobson and Ally Frickel, electrical and computer engineering specialists at Iowa State University, offer these tips to help prevent cybercrime from happening on your operation.
Keep an Eye on Your Email
“Email is a huge opportunity for attackers to trick victims into downloading malware,” the pair state. “This tactic is called phishing. In emails, senders will disguise themselves to sound like someone important to the victim. In regard to farmers, attackers may pretend to be a cooperative, supplier, implement dealer - anyone that is critical to farmers’ jobs.”
For a phishing attack to work, it requires the email recipient to click on a link or attachment that is connected to the malware. This will cause the computer to download and install harmful technology to their device.
To prevent this from happening, Jacobson and Frickel suggest the following: “Trust your instincts. If the email looks fishy, it probably is. Do not trust unfamiliar email addresses. If you suspect an email is a phishing email, do not click on any link or attachment. Delete the email.”
Protect Your Passwords
We’re all guilty of using the same password over and over again, but this can be a dangerous practice for your operation.
When creating a password, the duo encourages farmers to focus on password strength. This means creating a password no one can guess. Additionally, this may also mean creating dozens of different, hard-to-remember passwords for various websites and programs.
“It’s understandable to be a bit overwhelmed,” the team shares. “One suggestion is to write the passwords down in a small notebook and keep it in a safe place. Do not create a document on your computer with account information and passwords.”
Lastly, it’s important to not share passwords with others. This may seem obvious but think about all of the different people involved in your operation. If the password is shared amongst other, it may put your farm’s private information in jeopardy.
Backup Your Data
If a cybercrime were to happen on your farm, it’s possible you could lose valuable information forever.
“To prevent losing this data, perform a periodic archive to secure storage,” the duo adds. “The point to backing data up to a secure storage - the cloud - is to be able to recover the data later.”
Another way to help make sure your information isn’t lost is to backup data via cloud storage or via a USB device. However, the key to making sure information isn’t lost is to backup data on a routine basis. Don’t wait until it is already lost!
To learn more on how to prevent a cyberattack, read:
