Researchers from Iowa State University, Washington State University, UC Davis and the International Center for Food Ontology Operability Data and Semantics have proposed a national Agriculture Cybersecurity Consortium (ACC) to protect American farming and food from cyber attacks, Farms.com reported. The recommendation, reached after workshops with more than 150 stakeholders, is published in the journal Nature Food.
The plan calls for five regional centres, in the Midwest, Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast, plus a national coordinating hub, paid for by federal and state governments and private investment. "Each center would work with local partners to conduct cybersecurity research, develop testing facilities, and provide education and workforce training tailored to regional needs," an Iowa State University release said.
Attacks are rising. The Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center counted 227 attacks on food and drink companies in the first half of 2026, up 62% on the same period of 2025. In June 2021 an attack on JBS shut US plants handling almost 20% of the country's beef processing, and the company paid an $11 million ransom in Bitcoin to the REvil group.
"Whether it's a small family farm, a regional processor, or a global distributor, every operation must be equipped with the knowledge and tools to defend against cyber threats," said Doug Jacobson, a professor at Iowa State. Ananth Kalyanaraman of Washington State University said wider digitisation of farm data and the spread of AI into daily work make security guarantees more important. Food and agriculture is one of 16 US critical infrastructure sectors.
Photo: BuzzFarmers from Providence & Tampa / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Source: Farms.com
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