Food and agriculture face ransomware attack surge

Ransomware attacks against the food and agriculture sector have totaled 84 during the first three months of 2025, which is over two times higher than the number of intrusions during the same period last year, reports The Record.

More than three-quarters of the intrusions were recorded between January and February, with ransomware already accounting for 53% of all cyberattacks against the industry during the quarter, according to a report from the Food and Ag-ISAC. Attacks against food and agriculture organizations have ramped up since the fourth quarter of last year due to the Clop hack of Cleo file sharing software, as well as persistent targeting of the Akira and RansomHub ransomware gangs, said the report, which also noted the elevated prevalence of outdated industrial control systems to be a significant vulnerability in the sector. Such an issue is even more compounded by inadequate threat visibility, noted Food and Ag-ISAC Director of Cyber Information Sharing Jonathan Bradley.