New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Agriculture tech use opens possibility of digital havoc

Date:
May 26, 2022
Source:
Flinders University
Summary:
Wide-ranging use of smart technologies is raising global agricultural production but international researchers warn this digital-age phenomenon could reap a crop of another kind -- cybersecurity attacks. Complex IT and math modelling has highlighted the risks.
Share:
FULL STORY

Wide-ranging use of smart technologies is raising global agricultural production but international researchers warn this digital-age phenomenon could reap a crop of another kind -- cybersecurity attacks.

Complex IT and math modelling at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia, Aix-Marseille University, France and Flinders University in South Australia, has highlighted the risks in a new article in the open access journal Sensors.

"Smart sensors and systems are used to monitor crops, plants, the environment, water, soil moisture, and diseases," says lead author Professor Abel Alahmadi from King Abdulaziz University.

"The transformation to digital agriculture would improve the quality and quantity of food for the ever-increasing human population, which is forecast to reach 10.9 billion by 2100."

This progress in production, genetic modification for drought-resistant crops, and other technologies is prone to cyber-attack -- particularly if the ag-tech sector doesn't take adequate precautions like other corporate or defence sectors, researchers warn.

Flinders University researcher Dr Saeed Rehman says the rise of internet connectivity and smart low-power devices has facilitated the shift of many labour-intensive food production jobs into the digital domain -- including modern techniques for accurate irrigation, soil and crop monitoring using drone surveillance.

"However, we should not overlook security threats and vulnerabilities to digital agriculture, in particular possible side-channel attacks specific to ag-tech applications," says Dr Rehman, an expert in cybersecurity and networking.

"Digital agriculture is not immune to cyber-attack, as seen by interference to a US watering system, a meatpacking firm, wool broker software and an Australian beverage company."

"Extraction of cryptographic or sensitive information from the operation of physical hardware is termed side-channel attack," adds Flinders co-author Professor David Glynn.

"These attacks could be easily carried out with physical access to devices, which the cybersecurity community has not explicitly investigated."

The researchers recommend investment into precautions and awareness about the vulnerabilities of digital agriculture to cyber-attack, with an eye on the potential serious effects on the general population in terms of food supply, labour and flow-on costs.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Flinders University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Adel N. Alahmadi, Saeed Ur Rehman, Husain S. Alhazmi, David G. Glynn, Hatoon Shoaib, Patrick Sol�. Cyber-Security Threats and Side-Channel Attacks for Digital Agriculture. Sensors, 2022; 22 (9): 3520 DOI: 10.3390/s22093520

Cite This Page:

Flinders University. "Agriculture tech use opens possibility of digital havoc." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 May 2022. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220526095551.htm>.
Flinders University. (2022, May 26). Agriculture tech use opens possibility of digital havoc. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 27, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220526095551.htm
Flinders University. "Agriculture tech use opens possibility of digital havoc." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220526095551.htm (accessed March 27, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES