Bipartisan duo looks to fend off food supply cyber threats as global tensions persist

FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan duo is looking to tag team cyber risks for American food supplies, debuting new legislation to increase analysis and threat detection in critical farm and food infrastructure. 

Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., teamed up to introduce the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act, designed to boost protection across agriculture and food sectors. 

“America’s adversaries are seeking to gain any advantage they can against us—including targeting critical industries like agriculture,” Cotton told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“Congress must work with the Department of Agriculture to identify and defeat these cybersecurity vulnerabilities,” he said. “This legislation will ensure we are prepared to protect the supply chains our farmers and all Americans rely on.”

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“Food security is national security, and the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act is a vital step toward safeguarding Michigan’s agriculture and food sectors,” said Slotkin in her own statement. 

“Cyber-attacks threaten our food supply constantly, and we must ensure both government and private industries are prepared,” she added. “This bipartisan bill will require the Department of Agriculture to work closely with our national security agencies to ensure that our adversaries, like China, can’t threaten our ability to feed ourselves by ourselves.”

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Specifically, the measure would require the secretaries of agriculture, homeland security and health and human services to coordinate with each other and with the director of national intelligence to go through annual crisis simulations to prepare for any cyber emergencies relating to food infrastructure. 

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The secretary of agriculture would also be directed to conduct risk assessments every two years to determine any vulnerabilities in the food and farm sectors, reporting the findings to Congress. 

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Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., are cosponsors of the bill. A companion bill is being introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn.

The bill has already gotten the backing of several food industry groups, such as the North American Millers Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, USA Rice and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.