The Federal Bureau of Investigation says the ag industry is facing several national security threats and the fallout could be catastrophic.

Eugene Kowel is the special agent in charge of the Omaha FBI Field Office. “We’re worried about the threat from cyber criminal actors hijacking our farming operations, our agricultural operations, our food processing facilities, ransomware, really halting operations.”

Speaking with reporters during the FBI’s Ag Threats Symposium Thursday, he said countries like China, Russia, North Korea and Iran can steal data from the cloud gathered by farms and ag businesses.

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