[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 191 (Monday, November 1, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7526-S7527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Cyber Security

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, earlier this month, Senator Ernst and 
I sent a letter to Secretary Mayorkas asking the Secretary to address 
the

[[Page S7527]]

devastating cyber attacks conducted on our national agricultural 
sector.
  Agriculture is designated as one of the country's 16 critical 
infrastructure industries but historically has not received robust 
cyber security support from our government. Attacks from foreign cyber 
criminals are threatening both the livelihood of our farmers and the 
security of the food that we eat.
  Last month, NEW Cooperative, an Iowa grain co-op, was the target of 
BlackMatter, a Russian cyber criminal cell. The cyber attack shut down 
systems that control crop irrigation, livestock feed schedules, and 
inventory distribution. NEW Cooperative comprises about 40 percent of 
the grain distribution in our country. The co-op narrowly managed to 
avert a crash in grain prices without paying a $5.9 million ransom.
  These attacks are not limited to just large distributors. The Russian 
group BlackByte claimed it attacked Farmers Cooperative Elevator 
Company, an Iowa grain co-op with just four locations. BlackByte is 
threatening to release 100 gigabytes of sensitive data, including 
financial, sales, and accounting information, if a ransom is not paid.
  The extent of the damage from the NEW Cooperative and the Farmers 
Cooperative Elevator Company attacks is not isolated to the grain 
market. Feed from these co-ops sustain more than 11 million head of 
livestock.
  These attacks affect the supply chain that puts food on the shelves 
of grocery stores all across our country. As Iowa farmers adopt new 
technologies to get their crops to market, their exposure grows to 
similar attacks.
  These two ransomware attacks are only the latest in a very long line 
of cyber attacks on our critical infrastructure this year. In July, a 
Miami-based software provider was attacked, which resulted in trickle-
down effects to thousands of organizations. In June, JBS Foods--that 
happens to be the world's largest meat processing company--that company 
was attacked, shutting down nine meat packing plants in the United 
States. In May, Colonial Pipeline was shut down for 11 days, resulting 
in buying panics and shortages.
  While many cyber attacks originate from Russia, attacks have also 
come from other countries. Earlier this year, the Biden administration 
formally blamed China for a massive hack of the Microsoft Exchange 
email server. The hackers responsible appeared to work directly for 
China's Ministry of State Security. Estimates range as high as 250,000 
victims in that attack.
  In July, the Senate Judiciary Committee, where I serve as ranking 
member, held a hearing at my request looking at how to prevent and 
respond to ransomware attacks. During this hearing, witnesses testified 
that the Department of Homeland Security would be identifying and 
hardening critical points of failure. However, it is clear that their 
actions up to now have not deterred criminals from targeting the U.S. 
agricultural industry.
  Now, farmers might be only 2 percent of the U.S. population, but they 
provide food for the other 98 percent. Their job--the 2 percent of the 
people in this country--is no small task. Keeping Americans fed is very 
important.
  There is an old quote that goes something like this: ``There are only 
nine meals between mankind and anarchy.'' The quote is key to 
understanding the importance of keeping our agricultural supply chain 
safe and secure.
  I want to thank my colleague Senator Ernst for joining me today in 
calling attention to this ongoing national security concern because 
agricultural security is national security. It is time that we do more 
to protect this critical sector of agriculture.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hickenlooper). The Senator from Iowa.
  Ms. ERNST. Thank you, Mr. President. I also want to thank my senior 
Senator from our great State of Iowa for his wonderful contributions to 
our agriculture sector. This is an extremely important topic that we 
are bringing to the floor today, the threat of agriculture ransomware.
  From grocery stores in Iowa to New York and every State in between, 
it is no secret that the price of groceries has drastically increased 
over the course of the past year. Combining that with the ongoing 
supply chain disaster, it is even more apparent that the last thing we 
need is a cyber security attack that would shut down any of our 
agriculture production.
  Like many Iowans, I am increasingly concerned about the growing 
ransomware attacks on our Nation's ag economy. In a 2019 report, 
researchers from the University of Minnesota outlined the seriousness 
of the risk of cyber attacks to the American food and agriculture 
system. The report indicated that American agriculture is extremely 
vulnerable due to outdated security, poor coordination among 
businesses, and lack of emphasis on cyber security within the industry.
  In June, the world's largest meat processing company, JBS, was 
attacked by a Russian-based operation. Nine U.S.-based meat packing 
plants temporarily shut down as a result of that attack, including the 
JBS pork processing plants in Marshalltown and Ottumwa, IA.
  Similarly, NEW Cooperative, an Iowa grain cooperative that controls 
40 percent of the grain distribution in our country, was recently 
targeted with a cyber attack by another Russian cyber crime. They 
attacked controlled crop irrigation, livestock feed schedules, and 
inventory distribution, and then they demanded $5.9 million in ransom.
  Another attack hit Farmers Cooperative Elevator Company, based in 
Arcadia, IA. This was coordinated by another Russian attacker, who 
threatened to release sensitive data, including financial, sales, and 
accounting information.
  This is a very serious warning sign for our ag industry. It is a 
problem primed to increase as farmers incorporate more technology into 
their daily lives. Precision agriculture, for example, has promising 
potential to fulfill increasing global food supply and demand while 
also improving our soil and water quality, but it demands heavy 
reliance on interconnected devices and the internet, creating 
vulnerability. Attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities to remotely 
control and disrupt data flow, potentially causing devastating 
consequences, especially as farmers move their crops and their 
livestock to market.
  These attacks risk the livelihood of farmers and affect the supply 
chain that puts food on the shelves and on our families' tables all 
across our country. That is why I believe 21st-century farming needs 
21st-century solutions. The security, safety, and resiliency of our 
food supply chain is integral to the overall security of our Nation.
  The ag sector is designated as critical infrastructure, but 
historically, it has not received robust cyber security support from 
the government.
  Just recently, I joined Senator Grassley in urging Secretary Mayorkas 
to address these ransomware attacks on agriculture and to leverage the 
Department's resources to prepare for any future attacks. The Biden 
administration outlined a new national security memorandum that would 
include cyber security as it relates to agriculture, but the plan is 
voluntary and would severely limit its effectiveness. It is why I 
joined Senators Grassley, Stabenow, and Tester in an effort to get both 
the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration, permanent 
representation on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United 
States.
  The legislation also adds new criteria to ensure that proposed 
transactions are reviewed specifically for their potential impact on 
American food and agricultural systems. The increasing trend of foreign 
investment in our food and ag system should be met with careful 
scrutiny in order to safeguard the security and safety of our food 
supply and, by extension, our Nation because, after all, food security 
is national security.
  Again, I thank my senior Senator Chuck Grassley for leading these 
efforts to protect our agriculture industry, the livelihoods of Iowans, 
and everyone else who puts food on their table.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.