New discussions have focused on cybersecurity, with concerns raised about a significant ransomware-hacked Alpine oil pipeline, alleged Chinese spy balloons flying overhead, and questions raised about enigmatic drones hovering over New Jersey’s skies. However, agriculture is a neglected area of focus, according to several notable characters, especially now that America’s company claims are prepared to give their best political leaders to Washington in the new year. Jose-Marie Griffiths, president of Dakota State University, described how significant the hinterland has become politically relevant as many Dakotans have taken on administration or government positions in the coming year, including Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S. D., who chairs the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. ” I said quite a lot in the past and in]congressional ] testimony about my concerns about agriculture and food production’s critical infrastructure, which came rather late to the cybersecurity critical infrastructure table”, Griffiths said. INFLATION, SUSTAINABILITY AND GLOBALISM ARE POTENTIAL DEATH SENTENCE TO US AG: FARMERS” People]will ] start to realize the agricultural vehicles they’re using increasingly are autonomous and connecting to broadband]via ] satellite — and other ways that these become vulnerable. And for those who want to hurt us, they are essentially exploiting our vulnerabilities,” she said. Residents of the hinterland pay much more attention to the dangers that China and other rivals pose to the agricultural field in the United States. With advancements in technology, thieves you now find their way into farms, palaces and the nation’s freight-train system, Thomas and Rounds said differently. Whether the funds produce is Pennsylvania potatoes, Florida lemons or Dakotan grains, all are important to the U. S. market and offer ring, and all can be subject to cyberthreats, Thomas suggested. Rounds told Fox News Digital that he has been studying the possible risks of the US agriculture industry in terms of security and foreign actors for some time. ” It’s more than just the cars and therefore forth”, he said. ” A bit of it has to do with the system on which we rely. A good example is your liquid systems, your electronic techniques… All of those correct today are connected and they all have cyber-points-of-entry.” And so, we have been, for an extended period of moment, looking at challenges that may come from elsewhere by adversaries that would like to invade not only the water materials, but also the electronic systems … and in some cases, drainage systems. Rounds claimed that he and another lawmakers have been “focused on where malevolent actors may figuratively” shoot the arrows at us,” and figure out who they are and how to quit them.” KEVIN ROBERTSHe claimed that the Chinese company Huawei had been selling cheap hardware to rural telecom companies and might be able to infiltrate communications systems.” Once we discovered that they might be putting in latent materials that could be activated at a later time, we’ve gotten most of them pulled out. But that’s only one way rural areas can fit into the rest of our communication systems, he said. Rounds said drones are becoming increasingly used in agriculture, and they, too, have the danger of being hacked. In the near future, vehicles like harvesters and tractors will face comparable challenges. You get into your tractor, you plug it in and basically it’ll drive it for you. We leave people in those tractors, but at some stage of the game, some of those might very well become autonomous as well— and they’re subject to cyber-intervention… “he said. Rounds noted that the use of grain elevators can be hampered by marketing and transportation, which puts the greater supply chain in jeopardy, and prevent farmers from selling on the open market, according to Rounds. When asked if he preferred the agricultural sector of today to the era before automation, Rounds replied that it was not about what he believed, but rather what would come next.” We will have more and more autonomous vehicles being used in farming. And the reason is that we don’t have the manpower, and instead we employ machinery. The equipment will expand. It’s going to become more sophisticated, and we’re going to be expected to do more things with fewer people actually operating them., “he said “.The supply chain is so critical. We frequently rely on autonomy for a lot of the delivery of our resources, both to the farmer and by the farmer in terms of a commodity he wants to market. If that new, technologically advanced system malfunctions or is compromised, it will significantly affect the ability to provide the raw materials to the individuals and businesses that actually produce the bread and such. Tenable’s CEO, Amit Yoran, recently testified before the House Homeland Security Committee and extensively discussed cyberattacks on critical U.S. infrastructure. Yoran told Fox News Digital recently that there is” no singular defense paradigm that could effectively be applied across all sectors” when asked about cybersecurity in the agricultural sector. Some providers of critical infrastructure have strong security programs, strong risk management strategies, and strong risk understanding. Others are woefully ill-prepared,” said Yoran, whose company is based in Howard County, Maryland.