smash that delete button

What are you doing with my information?

Agronomy and the Law: Are you prepared to answer that question from a farming client?

With the increasing development and usage of precision agriculture and technological advances in the agriculture industry, farmers are experiencing huge increases in productivity, efficiency and profitability. These innovations include the industry’s development of software applications to manage farm data, sensors on implements, drones, precision machinery and GPS technology, to name a few. With this rise […] Read more

A majority of ag-based companies in a recent survey reported experiencing at least one attempt at a ransomware attack.

How to prepare for and deal with a loss of farm data

Gathering the farm team together can help develop a backup plan

Many of today’s farming operations rely on data more than most other small businesses. But what happens if a farm’s data is suddenly lost or compromised? How would that affect operations? Losing field data maps and other files, not to mention business and employee records, could become a big problem. In today’s global environment there […] Read more



Photo: PUGUN SJ

Some farm dealerships back online after cyber attack

Dealers forced to turn to pen and paper after attack knocked out inventory software

Brian Osterndorff, chair of the board of the Canadian Equipment Dealers Association, and president and CEO of Robert’s Farm Equipment, a seven-store group in Ontario, said on June 26 that they had just been informed that they could use the system again.


Mailed cheques are now being intercepted by fraudsters and duplicated but made out to new payees.

Fraudsters bringing bigger phish to farms

An ATB rep suggests the time has come for you to stop writing physical cheques

Glacier FarmMedia — The time has come for you to step up your cybersecurity against rising levels of financial fraud that have cost some producers tens of thousands of dollars. “It’s unbelievable the amount of cases that have come through our organization in the last year and a half,” says Jonathan Neutens, head of agriculture […] Read more

(Viktorcvetkovic/E+/Getty Images)

Activists target Ontario hog farm with ransomware

'We are dealing with adversaries whose motivation is not money'

A ransomware on a small Ontario hog business is something a cybersecurity expert says needs more attention from the agriculture industry. Instead of cash, the attackers demanded the hog business owners publicly admit to what they alleged to be livestock mistreatment. The occurrence was unique and alarming, says Ali Dehghantanha, Canada research chair in cybersecurity […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Cyberattack a $23 million hit on Maple Leaf ledger

Company refused to pay ransom

Last fall’s ransomware attack at pork and poultry packer Maple Leaf Foods led to an “adverse economic impact” of $23 million or more on the company’s bottom line as it worked to restore systems, officials said. The company on Thursday released that estimate as part of its fourth-quarter financial report, in which it booked a […] Read more

File photo of a suspension footbridge in Thailand. (Tinnakorn Jorruang/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada to boost defence, cyber security in Indo-Pacific policy

New policy document puts focus on 'disruptive' China

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada launched its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy on Sunday, outlining $2.3 billion in spending to boost military and cyber security in the region and vowed to deal with a “disruptive” China while working with it on climate change and trade issues. The plan detailed in a 26-page document said Canada will tighten […] Read more


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Cybersecurity ‘incident’ hits Maple Leaf systems

Grocery firm Empire also dealing with IT grief

Some information technology (IT) systems at Canadian pork and poultry packer Maple Leaf Foods have been downed in what the company described Monday as a “cybersecurity incident.” The company said in a release Monday that it “took immediate action and engaged cybersecurity and recovery experts” when it learned of the problem, and its in-house and […] Read more

Being diligent about cybersecurity is important, even on the farm.

Cybercriminals target equipment manufacturers

John Deere’s Cyber Security Defense Center is one example of how industry is fighting back

In May, major American ag equipment manufacturer AGCO revealed it had been targeted by a ransomware attack on its computer systems. In a statement on May 16, the company said its efforts to restore systems and business operations were continuing successfully after the attack, which was discovered on May 5, and all factories and parts […] Read more