Researchers Propose National Agriculture Cybersecurity Consortium

Washington State University researchers and national partners are calling for a geographically distributed Agriculture Cybersecurity Consortium (ACC) to address growing threats to the U.S. food system. Published in Nature Food, the proposal follows workshops identifying critical vulnerabilities in digital agricultural infrastructure and a lack of assessment tools.

The ACC aims to unify stakeholders, including farms, government, and academia, across three pillars: multidisciplinary research, specialized testbeds, and workforce development. By integrating AI and emerging technologies, the consortium seeks to secure digitizing agricultural data and improve the resilience of critical food supply chains against adversarial cyberattacks.

Editor's note: Concise, accurate summary of the consortium's goals, pillars, and institutional backing.