Fargo, N.D. – An alarming number of ransomware attacks are taking place on farmers and the agriculture industry in general so far this year across the globe.
According to the Food and Agriculture-Information Sharing and Analysis Center, there have been 84 attacks of this kind worldwide between January and March of 2025.
That’s double compared to the year before.
Ransomware criminals hack into computer systems and lock out the users. The crooks then demand a sum of money to restore access and data to their victims.
“Food security is national security,” says Flag Family Ag Director Bridgette Readel, who discussed some of the reasons why on What’s On Your Mind?
“We have much more legacy equipment and industrial controls,” said Readel. “53% of [overall] ransomware attacks are coming after our food industry.”
Listen below: Flag Family Media Agriculture Director Bridgette Readel’s conversation on What’s On Your Mind?
Readel says small farmers shouldn’t believe that they won’t become targets, and there’s also embarrassment around telling people that they were a victim of such an attack.
“There’s a stigma to say my farm was caught in a phishing scam or ransomware,” said Readel “[Victims think] I don’t want to go to the coffee shop and tell people.”
Because of that, Readel says ransomware attacks are underreported, leading to less of a chance to track it down.
Readel also says farmers should be wary of what they’re sharing online through unsecured personal email accounts, and should consider using tougher computer security methods.
“Because when we send information to our insurance agents and bank partners that’s being watched,” said Readel. “There [could] already have been some malware attached to your computer that is watching the information…and being carefully snipped to be used against you in a scam.”
Law enforcement agencies recommend people should call them first if they’re victims of such a crime.
On their website, the FBI says they don’t “support paying a ransom in response” because it doesn’t guarantee your data will be recovered and can also encourage criminals to continue with their attacks on others.
