News & Events.
Article: Now is the Time to Secure Food Processing Facilities
December 06, 2024
An article authored by exida's Patrick O'Brien is published on the Food Engineering web site.
Now is the Time to Secure Food Processing Facilities
The threats facing food processing facilities are already here, and there is no longer any time to delay implementing minimum protections for these sites.
Cyberattacks pose a major threat to the reliability and safety of food supply in the U.S. and around the world. The sources of cybersecurity threats for food processing facilities continue to increase, ranging from criminal organizations, nation states (state-sponsored hacking groups), hacktivist groups (crowdsourced hacking for a variety of different “causes”) and disgruntled insiders. Attacks from these groups can potentially lead to significant supply disruptions and even food safety issues.
The COVID-19 pandemic has already highlighted the susceptibility of food supply to disruptions and the potential for significant price fluctuations for consumers. From March to June of 2020, U.S. consumers saw a 10% jump in the cost of meats, poultry, fish and eggs, and a 20% jump in the cost of beef. A large-scale cybersecurity incident could cause similar ripples in supply.