š¢ Listener Advisory: This episode discusses unsettling topics, including terrorism, animal harm, cult-like groups, radical activism, and threats to food security. Listener discretion is advised. What happens when terrorism targets the food we eat? Ā In this eye-opening episode of Bites and Bytes Podcast, we explore agroterrorismāthe deliberate targeting of farms, livestock, and food supply chains to incite fear, economic damage, or ideological change. Joining host Kristin Demoranville are three leading experts in agriculture, risk management, and security: š©āš¾ Hannah Thompson-Weeman ā President & CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance, Hannah is a leading voice in protecting animal agriculture from activist threats and misinformation. Ā She has dedicated her career to connecting the food supply chain and defending farms against radical actors. š Michael Urbanik ā Insurance and risk management expert at R.K. Tongue Co., Inc., Michael works closely with businesses to understand their vulnerabilities and create protection strategies against emerging threats, including agroterrorism and cybercrime. š Andrew Rose - A Bites and Bytes Podcast repeat guest, Andrew is a visionary AgFuturist and cybersecurity strategist. He is focused on mitigating threats to agriculture that are generations ahead of their time. As an advisor to BIO-ISAC and an expert in food and climate security, he brings a crucial perspective on the evolving risks to our food systems. š Who should listen? Farmers & Ranchers ā Protect your livelihood from security threats. Food Industry Professionals ā Learn about supply chain risks and disruptions. Cybersecurity & Risk Experts ā Understand the intersection of cybercrime and agriculture. Policy Makers & Regulators ā Gain insights into the evolving threats to food security. Concerned Consumers ā Get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to keep our food supply safe. š In this episode, we discuss: What agroterrorism is (and what it isnāt) How extremist groups are infiltrating farms and food supply chains The role of cyberattacks in disrupting agriculture The impact of activism, misinformation, and social engineering on food production Best practices for protecting farms and food systems Real-world examples of agroterrorist incidents and their consequences Food security is national security. Ā Join us for a gripping discussion on why agriculture is under attackāand what we can do to defend it. _______________________________________________ Episode Key Highlights (0:08:09) - What is Agroterrorism?Ā (0:11:56) - Economic and Social Impact (0:16:42) - Detection Challenges (0:19:16) - Cybersecurityās Role (0:23:36) - Radical Activism (0:25:03) - Protective Measures for Farmers (0:29:20) - Do We Have the Right Skills? (0:33:38) - Real Agroterrorism Cases (0:38:59) - Cyberbullying & Threats (0:42:22) - Mental Health Toll (0:50:20) - How Cyber Experts Can Help (1:00:15) - Final Thoughts _______________________________________________ Show Notes: FBI Definition of Agroterrorism: https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/agroterrorism-threats-to-americas-economy-and-food-supply#:~:text=A%20subset%20of%20bioterrorism%2C%20agroterrorism,from%20four%20categories%20of%20perpetrators. Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-markets-financial-institutions-and-fiscal-service/federal-insurance-office/terrorism-risk-insurance-program Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ374/PLAW-109publ374.pdf _______________________________________________ Wicked6Ā is about women coming together to play cyber games and learn about careers in cybersecurity. š„ March 28-30, 2025 ā a three-day, global, virtual Hack & Chat event where women worldwide come together to play cyber games, compete, learn, and connect. š” Weāve got international speakers, technical talks, hands-on workshops, and, of courseā¦the GAMES! Ā Think Capture the Flag, Attack & Defend, and a high-stakes team tournamentāall virtually streamed LIVE! āØ Whether youāre a newbie or a seasoned pro, thereās a game for you.Ā Plus, thereās networking, prizes, merch, and so much more! š» Sign up now at Wicked6.com, and letās LEVEL UP together! š„šŖ š¤ Want to share your story?Ā Call for speakers & technical workshops is OPEN! š¹ Ever wonder what cybersecurity careers look like?Ā Submit a āDay in the Lifeā video! š Passionate about supporting women in cyber?Ā Join us as a volunteer or referee! š¤ And, companiesābe a sponsor! Ā Help empower the next generation of women in cybersecurity. š Attack & Defense Call for Volunteers ā Help design the next big challenge! Ā If youāre a seasoned challenge developer, step up and create a mind-bending cyber challenge for the competition. Just rememberādevelopers canāt compete! š¤Æš Sign up here: š Volunteer Form š Meet the Wicked6 2025 Advisory Board! This powerhouse team of women is driving the mission forwardābuilding an event thatās about competition, connection, and career growth. Get to know them here: š Advisory BoardĀ - you will see your Bites and Bytes Podcast host there! _______________________________________________ Bites and Bytes Podcast Info: Website: Ā Explore all our episodes, articles, and more on our official website. Ā Visit Now Merch Shop: Ā Show your support with some awesome Bites and Bytes gear! š§¢šĀ Shop Now Blog:Ā Stay updated with the latest insights and stories from the world of cybersecurity in the food industry. Ā Read Our Blog Audience Survey: Ā We value your feedback! Ā Help us make the podcast even better. Ā Take the Survey Schedule a Call with Kristin:Ā Want to share your thoughts?Ā Schedule a meeting with Kristin! Ā Schedule Now Socials:Ā TikTok; Instagram; LinkedIn
Chapter 1: What is agroterrorism and why is it a concern?
Welcome back to the Bites and Bites podcast, where food, technology, and cybersecurity collide. I'm your host, Kristen Demiranville, and today we're talking about a topic that's both urgent and very unsettling, agroterrorism. Farms are being targeted by cyber criminals, radical activists and bad actors looking to disrupt food production.
While this is well known within agriculture, it's largely overlooked outside of it. Before we begin today, a quick listener advisory. In this episode, we will discuss uncomfortable topics, including terrorism. animal harm, radical activism, radical veganism, extreme groups, and cult-like behaviors. Listener discretion is advised. With that, let's jump into the conversation.
Well, we have a very interesting episode today. It's a little bit off of the norm, I would say, for Bites and Bites. We're going to talk about agroterrorism. But before we do all that and define it so the listeners understand what it is and what it's not, I'm going to go around the room and introduce the experts I have. And I'm very excited because once again, we have Andrew Rose.
Chapter 2: Who are the experts discussing agroterrorism?
Andrew, just quickly introduce yourself and then we'll go around the room.
Absolutely. And thank you again for having me here. It's always an honor to be here both virtually and in person on stage in Montreal. It was a blast as well. I am an agricultural futurist. I focused on these projects that will benefit our species three generations from now on a world as it will be to ensure that they have the food they need to survive and flourish.
And then for the past almost nine years now, I've worked in protecting our ag supply chain from cyber criminals and related threats. And I'm really excited about the co-guests that we have here today. These are some of the best in the world, in my opinion.
That's great. Hannah, do you want to introduce yourself? Hi, everyone. Hannah Thompson-Wieman. I'm president and CEO of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. We are a nonprofit working to safeguard the future of animal agriculture and its value to society by bridging the communication gap between the farm and food communities.
Everything we do falls in the areas of connect, so connecting stakeholders from across animal agriculture and the food chain. Engage, so engaging with key influencers on hot topics like animal welfare, sustainability, responsible antibiotic use. And then lastly, the juicy stuff, protect. which is our monitoring of adversarial groups out there.
So individuals and organizations that just don't believe there's a way to ethically and responsibly raise animals for food and are working very fervently to try to advance that mindset using a variety of different tactics, including some that would fall in the realm of what we're going to be talking about here today.
So monitoring those groups and informing the industry about security management and other ways that we can make sure that we're protecting our livelihoods. The alliance has been around since 1987. So we have quite a bit of history in this area and we're based in the D.C. area. Great. Thanks, Hannah. Appreciate that. And last but not least, Mike.
Hey guys, my name is Michael Urbanik. I'm an insurance agent with Arcade Tongue, over a hundred year old brokerage just out of Baltimore. I live down in the Richmond area, but you know, where I fit in all this is working with clients, businesses, understanding what risks do they face and
Any business has a myriad of risks and they only keep evolving and then helping them finding ways to transfer that risk, whether it's via traditional insurance programs, self-retention groups, self-insuring to make sure that they're geared up facing all the threats that avail them. So, yeah, excited to be here.
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Chapter 3: How do cyber threats intersect with agriculture?
Uh, so it can kind of be that pass between some organizations that will join the Alliance just to be able to say like, we're, we're with you, you know, we support them too as kind of their, their credentials, their creds. So I definitely think that think that trust factor is big and we're, we're certainly encouraging that mindset of trust, but verify, uh,
And if we can help be part of that verification process, we're glad to do it.
I'm assuming at some point there's probably going to be more of a formal verification that you could be like, do you have a blue check? Do you have the little red truck that they use in England? And, you know, those kind of things. Maybe at some point we'll have something like agro safe. I don't know.
I'm just making things up now because it's such a big thing that people need to know on the fly if this is going to be trustworthy or not and not spoofed and not deep faked or any of the other terms that are out there. I do have a question because we're talking a lot about this. Are there been any other notable agro-terrorist incidents?
Let's just dive into that a little bit because I want to dissect a couple of them and how it happened, what happened, and how we can prevent it moving forward. And whoever wants to answer that's fine.
i do want to go back to one thing that mike said before just on the you know what can a farmer do i always come at this from right of boom i come in the conversation after the attack has happened so okay let's put the pieces together and let's figure out how we can mitigate this going forward so i always advocate for doing a tabletop exercise Do a what if.
And Hannah's probably got, I don't know, seven or eight different case studies she can share with you on different types of activist actions that could disrupt your farming operations, whether it's a protest or something is adulterated or something like that. I would strongly encourage as part of the business continuity planning anyway to put a few of those on the agenda.
So in addition to the tornado or the fire, what else you're planning for, think about that. And I want to go back to something a little bit earlier too. A lot of people, because we kind of hinted at a cult-like mentality of folks in the vegan community, they're very susceptible to programming or suggestions. And a lot of times when you're that much of a zealot about what it is you believe in,
Your enemy's enemy is your friend. And our adversaries play on that sentiment and they can utilize these communities as a cat's paw. Whether that cat's paw is direct action, that cat's paw could be gathering information for a sympathetic friend, a synthetic sympathetic friend, perhaps. But our adversaries recognize that is an easy way in.
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