It was recently reported that the Iowa-based farm service provider, New Cooperative, was targeted by a ransomware attack that impacted some of its devices and systems.
Indeed, the attackers were able to get access to financial documents, network information for multiple companies involved with New Cooperative, social security numbers, and personal information. The ransomware group also stated to have 1,000GB of data and has set a timer that expires at noon on September 25. The group is thus demanding a $5.9 million ransom.
The company declared that they took their systems offline to contain the threat. However, New Cooperative is part of the 16 critical sectors of the country, meaning that there would be significant public disruption if their systems are not back and running quickly. The ransomware group said it would not back down so the company might have no choice but to contact CISA in the case they are not back up and running within the next 12 hours.
It was also reported that ransomware groups have increased their attacks on the agriculture industry, leading the FBI to release a notice warning companies in the food and agriculture sector to watch out for ransomware attacks aiming to disrupt supply chains.
