Hacking the Harvest: Jonathan Braley on Ransomware, GPS Disruption, and Securing U.S. Agriculture

In this episode of Cyber Focus, Frank Cilluffo sits down with Jonathan Braley, Director of the Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Food and Ag-ISAC), to explore the growing cybersecurity threats facing the U.S. food and agriculture sector. They examine the integration of operational technology (OT), the rise in ransomware attacks on farms and food producers, and the fragile nature of supply chain cybersecurity. Braley highlights why even small farms are increasingly targeted and how awareness, threat intelligence sharing, and proactive cyber defense strategies are essential. The discussion also touches on the geopolitical dimensions of agricultural cybersecurity, with examples from Ukraine, Israel, and China. Main Topics Covered: • Why cybersecurity threats matter in the agriculture and food production sector • The risks posed by operational technology (OT) and GPS disruption in precision agriculture • The impact of ransomware attacks on small farms and supply chain resilience • Emerging cyber threats tied to foreign adversaries, disinformation, and intellectual property theft • New technologies in agriculture: AI tools, drones, and autonomous farming systems • The importance of cyber threat intelligence sharing and public-private collaboration in agriculture Key Quotes: "Historically we all have this picture of a farm in our heads with the manual tractors and people out on the fields. But there's a lot of technology now baked into the food and agriculture sector." – Jonathan Braley "If we're relying on our precision agriculture without a backup plan, when [GPS] goes down, it's not going to be a good situation for us." – Jonathan Braley "Anywhere along that [supply] line, one of those companies has a cyber incident—it's going to impact everybody." – Jonathan Braley "The ransomware group seemed to have an understanding of the nature of food and ag, and they hit them when it was most impactful [during peak planting and harvesting season]." – Jonathan Braley "The more we can share with each other [across government and industry], I think we have a better chance of protecting ourselves." – Jonathan Braley Relevant Links and Resources: • Food and Ag-ISAC: https://www.foodandag-isac.org/ •  Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 (CISA) Guest Bio: Jonathan Braley is the Director of the Food and Ag-ISAC, a key hub for cybersecurity information sharing across the food and agriculture sector. He also serves as Director of Threat Intelligence at the IT-ISAC, where he supports some of the world's leading technology companies. Braley's work focuses on improving cyber resilience in agriculture, helping farms, suppliers, and food producers detect and defend against ransomware, OT threats, and supply chain vulnerabilities.