Iowa | September 22, 2021
Russian hackers target Iowa grain co-op in $5.9 million ransomware attack
Iowa | September 22, 2021
Russian hackers leveled a ransomware attack on an Iowa farming co-op and demanded $5.9 million to unlock the computer networks used to keep food supply chains and feeding schedules on track for millions of chickens, hogs and cattle. Fort Dodge-based New Cooperative, a member-owned alliance of farmers that sells corn and soy products, contained the breach and developed a workaround to continue accepting grain shipments and distributing feed, a person close to the company told The Washington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information. But the cooperative took its computer network offline to isolate the incursion, the person said, and shuttered its soil-mapping software — a master-control system that optimizes irrigation and fertilization — as a precaution. Farmers, meanwhile, have taken to using paper scale tickets to log their grain hauls as they drop them off at the cooperative, said Tim Luginsland, Wells Fargo’s food and agribusiness sector manager…. (Excerpts from the Washington Post)