Cyber Threats to Agriculture and Food Supply Chains
Digitisation in Agriculture
The traditional way of doing agriculture has undergone massive digitization in recent years, whereby several agricultural processes have been linked to the Internet. This globally prevalent transformation, driven by smart technology, encompasses the use of sensors, IoT devices, and data analytics to optimize and automate labour-intensive farming practices. Smart farmers in the country and abroad now leverage real-time data to monitor soil conditions, weather patterns, and crop health, enabling precise resource management and improved yields. The integration of smart technology in agriculture not only enhances productivity but also promotes sustainable practices by reducing waste and conserving resources. As a result, the agricultural sector is becoming more efficient, resilient, and capable of meeting the growing global demand for food.
Digitisation of Food Supply Chains
There has also been an increase in the digitisation of food supply chains across the globe since it enables both suppliers and consumers to keep track of the stage of food processing from farm to table and ensures the authenticity of the food product. The latest generation of agricultural robots is being tested to minimise human intervention. It is thought that AI-run processes can mitigate labour shortage, improve warehousing and storage and make transportation more efficient by running continuous evaluations and adjusting the conditions real-time while increasing yield. The company Muddy Machines is currently trialling an autonomous asparagus-harvesting robot called Sprout that not only addresses labour shortages but also selectively harvests green asparagus, which traditionally requires careful picking. However, Chris Chavasse, co-founder of Muddy Machines, highlights that hackers and malicious actors could potentially hack into the robot's servers and prevent it from operating by driving it into a ditch or a hedge, thereby impending core crop activities like seeding and harvesting. Hacking agricultural pieces of machinery also implies damaging a farmer’s produce and in turn profitability for the season.
Case Study: Muddy Machines and Cybersecurity Risks
A cyber attack on digitised agricultural processes has a cascading impact on online food supply chains. Risks are non-exhaustive and spill over to poor protection of cargo in transit, increased manufacturing of counterfeit products, manipulation of data, poor warehousing facilities and product-specific fraud, amongst others. Additional impacts on suppliers are also seen, whereby suppliers have supplied the food products but fail to receive their payments. These cyber-threats may include malware(primarily ransomware) that accounts for 38% of attacks, Internet of Things (IoT) attacks that comprise 29%, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, SQL Injections, phishing attacks etc.
Prominent Cyber Attacks and Their Impacts
Ransomware attacks are the most popular form of cyber threats to food supply chains and may include malicious contaminations, deliberate damage and destruction of tangible assets (like infrastructure) or intangible assets (like reputation and brand). In 2017, NotPetya malware disrupted the world’s largest logistics giant Maersk and destroyed all end-user devices in more than 60 countries. Interestingly, NotPetya was also linked to the malfunction of freezers connected to control systems. The attack led to these control systems being compromised, resulting in freezer failures and potential spoilage of food, highlighting the vulnerability of industrial control systems to cyber threats.
Further Case Studies
NotPetya also impacted Mondelez, the maker of Oreos but disrupting its email systems, file access and logistics for weeks. Mondelez’s insurance claim was also denied since NotPetya malware was described as a “war-like” action, falling outside the purview of the insurance coverage. In April 2021, over the Easter weekend, Bakker Logistiek, a logistics company based in the Netherlands that offers air-conditioned warehousing and food transportation for Dutch supermarkets, experienced a ransomware attack. This incident disrupted their supply chain for several days, resulting in empty shelves at Albert Heijn supermarkets, particularly for products such as packed and grated cheese. Despite the severity of the attack, the company successfully restored their operations within a week by utilizing backups. JBS, one of the world’s biggest meat processing companies, also had to pay $11 million in ransom via Bitcoin to resolve a cyber attack in the same year, whereby computer networks at JBS were hacked, temporarily shutting down their operations and endangering consumer data. The disruption threatened food supplies and risked higher food prices for consumers. Additional cascading impacts also include low food security and hindrances in processing payments at retail stores.
Credible Threat Agents and Their Targets
Any cyber-attack is usually carried out by credible threat agents that can be classified as either internal or external threat agents. Internal threat agents may include contractors, visitors to business sites, former/current employees, and individuals who work for suppliers. External threat agents may include activists, cyber-criminals, terror cells etc. These threat agents target large organisations owing to their larger ransom-paying capacity, but may also target small companies due to their vulnerability and low experience, especially when such companies are migrating from analogous methods to digitised processes.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation warns that the food and agricultural systems are most vulnerable to cyber-security threats during critical planting and harvesting seasons. It noted an increase in cyber-attacks against six agricultural co-operatives in 2021, with ancillary core functions such as food supply and distribution being impacted. Resultantly, cyber-attacks may lead to a mass shortage of food not only meant for human consumption but also for animals.
Policy Recommendations
To safeguard against digital food supply chains, Food defence emerges as one of the top countermeasures to prevent and mitigate the effects of intentional incidents and threats to the food chain. While earlier, food defence vulnerability assessments focused on product adulteration and food fraud, including vulnerability assessments of agriculture technology now be more relevant.
Food supply organisations must prioritise regular backups of data using air-gapped and password-protected offline copies, and ensure critical data copies are not modifiable or deletable from the main system. For this, blockchain-based food supply chain solutions may be deployed, which are not only resilient to hacking, but also allow suppliers and even consumers to track produce. Companies like Ripe.io, Walmart Global Tech, Nestle and Wholechain deploy blockchain for food supply management since it provides overall process transparency, improves trust issues in the transactions, enables traceable and tamper-resistant records and allows accessibility and visibility of data provenance. Extensive recovery plans with multiple copies of essential data and servers in secure, physically separated locations, such as hard drives, storage devices, cloud or distributed ledgers should be adopted in addition to deploying operations plans for critical functions in case of system outages. For core processes which are not labour-intensive, including manual operation methods may be used to reduce digital dependence. Network segmentation, updates or patches for operating systems, software, and firmware are additional steps which can be taken to secure smart agricultural technologies.
References
- Muddy Machines website, Accessed 26 July 2024. https://www.muddymachines.com/
- “Meat giant JBS pays $11m in ransom to resolve cyber-attack”, BBC, 10 June 2021. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57423008
- Marshall, Claire & Prior, Malcolm, “Cyber security: Global food supply chain at risk from malicious hackers.”, BBC, 20 May 2022. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-61336659
- “Ransomware Attacks on Agricultural Cooperatives Potentially Timed to Critical Seasons.”, Private Industry Notification, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 20 April https://www.ic3.gov/Media/News/2022/220420-2.pdf.
- Manning, Louise & Kowalska, Aleksandra. (2023). “The threat of ransomware in the food supply chain: a challenge for food defence”, Trends in Organized Crime. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-023-09516-y
- “NotPetya: the cyberattack that shook the world”, Economic Times, 5 March 2022. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/newsletters/ettech-unwrapped/notpetya-the-cyberattack-that-shook-the-world/articleshow/89997076.cms?from=mdr
- Abrams, Lawrence, “Dutch supermarkets run out of cheese after ransomware attack.”, Bleeping Computer, 12 April 2021. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/dutch-supermarkets-run-out-of-cheese-after-ransomware-attack/
- Pandey, Shipra; Gunasekaran, Angappa; Kumar Singh, Rajesh & Kaushik, Anjali, “Cyber security risks in globalised supply chains: conceptual framework”, Journal of Global Operations and Strategic Sourcing, January 2020. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Shipra-Pandey/publication/338668641_Cyber_security_risks_in_globalized_supply_chains_conceptual_framework/links/5e2678ae92851c89c9b5ac66/Cyber-security-risks-in-globalized-supply-chains-conceptual-framework.pdf
- Daley, Sam, “Blockchain for Food: 10 examples to know”, Builin, 22 March 2023 https://builtin.com/blockchain/food-safety-supply-chain
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Introduction
Deepfakes are artificial intelligence (AI) technology that employs deep learning to generate realistic-looking but phoney films or images. Algorithms use large volumes of data to analyse and discover patterns in order to provide compelling and realistic results. Deepfakes use this technology to modify movies or photos to make them appear as if they involve events or persons that never happened or existed.The procedure begins with gathering large volumes of visual and auditory data about the target individual, which is usually obtained from publicly accessible sources such as social media or public appearances. This data is then utilised for training a deep-learning model to resemble the target of deep fakes.
Recent Cases of Deepfakes-
In an unusual turn of events, a man from northern China became the victim of a sophisticated deep fake technology. This incident has heightened concerns about using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to aid financial crimes, putting authorities and the general public on high alert.
During a video conversation, a scammer successfully impersonated the victim’s close friend using AI-powered face-swapping technology. The scammer duped the unwary victim into transferring 4.3 million yuan (nearly Rs 5 crore). The fraud occurred in Baotou, China.
AI ‘deep fakes’ of innocent images fuel spike in sextortion scams
Artificial intelligence-generated “deepfakes” are fuelling sextortion frauds like a dry brush in a raging wildfire. According to the FBI, the number of nationally reported sextortion instances came to 322% between February 2022 and February 2023, with a notable spike since April due to AI-doctored photographs. And as per the FBI, innocent photographs or videos posted on social media or sent in communications can be distorted into sexually explicit, AI-generated visuals that are “true-to-life” and practically hard to distinguish. According to the FBI, predators often located in other countries use doctored AI photographs against juveniles to compel money from them or their families or to obtain actual sexually graphic images.
Deepfake Applications
- Lensa AI.
- Deepfakes Web.
- Reface.
- MyHeritage.
- DeepFaceLab.
- Deep Art.
- Face Swap Live.
- FaceApp.
Deepfake examples
There are numerous high-profile Deepfake examples available. Deepfake films include one released by actor Jordan Peele, who used actual footage of Barack Obama and his own imitation of Obama to convey a warning about Deepfake videos.
A video shows Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussing how Facebook ‘controls the future’ with stolen user data, most notably on Instagram. The original video is from a speech he delivered on Russian election meddling; only 21 seconds of that address were used to create the new version. However, the vocal impersonation fell short of Jordan Peele’s Obama and revealed the truth.
The dark side of AI-Generated Misinformation
- Misinformation generated by AI-generated the truth, making it difficult to distinguish fact from fiction.
- People can unmask AI content by looking for discrepancies and lacking the human touch.
- AI content detection technologies can detect and neutralise disinformation, preventing it from spreading.
Safeguards against Deepfakes-
Technology is not the only way to guard against Deepfake videos. Good fundamental security methods are incredibly effective for combating Deepfake.For example, incorporating automatic checks into any mechanism for disbursing payments might have prevented numerous Deepfake and related frauds. You might also:
- Regular backups safeguard your data from ransomware and allow you to restore damaged data.
- Using different, strong passwords for different accounts ensures that just because one network or service has been compromised, it does not imply that others have been compromised as well. You do not want someone to be able to access your other accounts if they get into your Facebook account.
- To secure your home network, laptop, and smartphone against cyber dangers, use a good security package such as Kaspersky Total Security. This bundle includes anti-virus software, a VPN to prevent compromised Wi-Fi connections, and webcam security.
What is the future of Deepfake –
Deepfake is constantly growing. Deepfake films were easy to spot two years ago because of the clumsy movement and the fact that the simulated figure never looked to blink. However, the most recent generation of bogus videos has evolved and adapted.
There are currently approximately 15,000 Deepfake videos available online. Some are just for fun, while others attempt to sway your opinion. But now that it only takes a day or two to make a new Deepfake, that number could rise rapidly.
Conclusion-
The distinction between authentic and fake content will undoubtedly become more challenging to identify as technology advances. As a result, experts feel it should not be up to individuals to discover deep fakes in the wild. “The responsibility should be on the developers, toolmakers, and tech companies to create invisible watermarks and signal what the source of that image is,” they stated. Several startups are also working on approaches for detecting deep fakes.
Introduction
THE DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL, 2022 Released for Public Consultation on November 18, 2022THE DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL, 2023Tabled at LokSabha on August 03. 2023Personal data may be processed only for a lawful purpose for which an individual has given consent. Consent may be deemed in certain cases.The 2023 bill imposes reasonable obligations on data fiduciaries and data processors to safeguard digital personal data.There is a Data Protection Board under the 2022 bill to deal with the non-compliance of the Act.Under the 2023 bill, there is the Establishment of a new Data Protection Board which will ensure compliance, remedies and penalties.
Under the new bill, the Board has been entrusted with the power of a civil court, such as the power to take cognisance in response to personal data breaches, investigate complaints, imposing penalties. Additionally, the Board can issue directions to ensure compliance with the act.The 2022 Bill grants certain rights to individuals, such as the right to obtain information, seek correction and erasure, and grievance redressal.The 2023 bill also grants More Rights to Individuals and establishes a balance between user protection and growing innovations. The bill creates a transparent and accountable data governance framework by giving more rights to individuals. In the 2023 bill, there is an Incorporation of Business-friendly provisions by removing criminal penalties for non-compliance and facilitating international data transfers.
The new 2023 bill balances out fundamental privacy rights and puts reasonable limitations on those rights.Under the 2022 bill, Personal data can be processed for a lawful purpose for which an individual has given his consent. And there was a concept of deemed consent.The new data protection board will carefully examine the instance of non-compliance by imposing penalties on non-compiler.The bill does not provide any express clarity in regards to compensation to be granted to the Data Principal in case of a Data Breach.Under 2023 Deemed consent is there in its new form as ‘Legitimate Users’.The 2022 bill allowed the transfer of personal data to locations notified by the government.There is an introduction of the negative list, which restricts cross-data transfer.
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Executive Summary:
A viral image circulating on social media claims to show a Hindu Sadhvi marrying a Muslim man; however, this claim is false. A thorough investigation by the Cyberpeace Research team found that the image has been digitally manipulated. The original photo, which was posted by Balmukund Acharya, a BJP MLA from Jaipur, on his official Facebook account in December 2023, he was posing with a Muslim man in his election office. The man wearing the Muslim skullcap is featured in several other photos on Acharya's Instagram account, where he expressed gratitude for the support from the Muslim community. Thus, the claimed image of a marriage between a Hindu Sadhvi and a Muslim man is digitally altered.
Claims:
An image circulating on social media claims to show a Hindu Sadhvi marrying a Muslim man.
Fact Check:
Upon receiving the posts, we reverse searched the image to find any credible sources. We found a photo posted by Balmukund Acharya Hathoj Dham on his facebook page on 6 December 2023.
This photo is digitally altered and posted on social media to mislead. We also found several different photos with the skullcap man where he was featured.
We also checked for any AI fabrication in the viral image. We checked using a detection tool named, “content@scale” AI Image detection. This tool found the image to be 95% AI Manipulated.
We also checked with another detection tool for further validation named, “isitai” image detection tool. It found the image to be 38.50% of AI content, which concludes to the fact that the image is manipulated and doesn’t support the claim made. Hence, the viral image is fake and misleading.
Conclusion:
The lack of credible source and the detection of AI manipulation in the image explains that the viral image claiming to show a Hindu Sadhvi marrying a Muslim man is false. It has been digitally altered. The original image features BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya posing with a Muslim man, and there is no evidence of the claimed marriage.
- Claim: An image circulating on social media claims to show a Hindu Sadhvi marrying a Muslim man.
- Claimed on: X (Formerly known as Twitter)
- Fact Check: Fake & Misleading
