Developing awareness and resources

One of our colleagues, Professor Zahid Islam, advocated to the Cyber CRC about the need for further research on Cyber Security and Agriculture. This need was recognised, and the Cyber CRC agreed to fund a pilot study in this area. As I believed that this was a strategic and important area of research, I ended up leading the pilot project which also included researchers from CSIRO, QUT and ECU. It involved completing a systematic literature review and interviews with farmers and businesses working with farmers. One of the key findings was that there was a substantial need to increase the awareness and capability of farmers with respect to managing and responding to cyber security threats. This led to us putting together the current project that seeks to address this need better understand farmers motivations and capacity as well as the likelihood of their adopting appropriate cyber solutions.

Exploratory qualitative work and a national farmer survey will help inform the design of solutions including the design of the “Virtual Chief Information Security Officer” vCISO  and the design of communications materials for raising awareness of cyber security among farmers. Some farmer types may require relatively simple resources (e.g. a PDF brochure) while others make seek more sophisticated training/support options.

A website will be developed to provide access to educational resources. Communication materials and the educational resources including professionally produced videos will be developed and qualitatively tested. Information about educational resources and communication tools will be distributed to farmer groups online with the potential for future extension activities.

I hope that there is greater realisation amongst primary producers that cyber threats do not simply occur because of what you do or don’t do on your office computer. Cyber security risks also exist because of farmers’ adoption, use and increasing dependence on data derived from Agri-tech devices that are linked through a network. Networked internet of things (IoT) devices (i.e., networked water sensor) that are wirelessly connected to the internet can be an access gateway for cyber criminals.

While IoT devices are providing farmers with valuable data and helping them gain knowledge and insights about the conditions their land and livestock, it also links their network to the outside world. Thus, adding another risk to their business. I hope that primary producers will engage with our communication and education materials, and other resources that are being developed, to strengthen their cybersecurity practices, their preparedness to deal with threats, and knowledge about what to do when issues arise.

Key outputs included:

• Qualitative research reports which explored farmers, and agri-tech service providers knowledge and attitudes towards cyber-threats.
• Quantitative nation-wide survey which examined primary producers’ cyber-security knowledge, motivations for adopting new practices, and likelihood of using educational resources.
• From the qualitative and quantitative research, the project team developed and distributed a range of evidence-based communication materials and education resources designed to support and guide farmers' adoption of cyber-security practices.