Canadian farmers are being asked for their input on a federally-backed project to assess and improve cybersecurity in Canada’s ag sector.
The Community Safety Knowledge Alliance, the lead organization on the Cyber Security Capacity in Canadian Agriculture project, has put up a voluntary online survey for farm operators, running until Feb. 18, “to look at how farmers understand and experience cybersecurity in their day-to-day work.”
Data from the survey — which is believed to be the first “comprehensive” survey of cybersecurity focusing on the Canadian farm sector — “will be used to develop information and recommendations to help farmers safeguard their operations,” the CSKA said.
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The CSKA said its survey “draws from work carried out in Canada and elsewhere, to help us better understand how farmer experiences in this country compare to other areas and sectors.”
The survey is confidential and no personally identifying information will be attached to any reports resulting from it, the CSKA said.
The federal public safety ministry last March funded the project via the national Cyber Security Co-operation Program. The CSKA is a not-for-profit organization that works with private- and public-sector organizations to research, evaluate, train and promote in the field of community safety.
Glacier FarmMedia (GFM), owner of this website and publications including Country Guide, Grainews and the Western Producer, announced last April it would collaborate with CSKA to help further extend the ag project’s reach.
Cybersecurity, for the purpose of this project, refers to “steps taken to protect computer systems, communications technology or devices connected through the internet or a network” from disruptions, whether “accidental or intentional.”
Cybersecurity in the farm and agribusiness sectors lit up on the public radar in 2021 following ransomware attacks on businesses including international meat packer JBS.
CSKA lead investigator Dr. Janos Botschner said last April that Canada’s ag and food sectors can be considered critical infrastructure in the same sense as water and electricity supplies, telecommunications and financial services.
Ag and food, he said, “is a little bit newer to digital technology than other sectors are, but it may end up moving toward digitalization faster than the others have had to.”
Glacier FarmMedia, the CSKA and Public Service Canada hosted a webinar Monday for farmers on cybersecurity in farm businesses, and will host a sequel online on Feb. 17. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
