Module 6: Cybersecurity


This module will introduce you to important concepts and practices about how to keep your farm more secure from various cyber threats. With more and more digital technologies being adopted on farms, cybersecurity is a central topic to keeping your data and your business safe and profitable. 

This module is made up of three units:

The first unit focuses on awareness and understanding - it will provide you with an overview of some of the cyber threats you may run into within the agriculture sector.

The second unit covers practices - it will look at the ways that you can be better prepared by implementing cybersecurity procedures in your operations.

The third unit emphasizes business continuity and sets you up with ways to manage risk and be cyber resilient, so you can be in a better position to keep your farm business up and running.

After completion of this module, you will be able to:

1. Explain the role of cybersecurity as a key element of farm business management.

2. Recognize common cybersecurity threats to agricultural producers and identify how each threat can impact your operations.

3. Assess and apply the practices that contribute to basic on-farm cyber-hygiene through cybersecurity policies, network maps, and more.

4. Apply best practices for cyber resilience to your farm operations.


This module was created in collaboration with the  Community Safety Knowledge Alliance  (CSKA). The content combines original material with CSKA’s existing work on cybersecurity in the agri-food sector, with additional contributions to tool development from Ritesh Kotak.


How to use this module

The cybersecurity module is designed to work together with other parts of this data literacy program or as a stand-alone learning experience. The aim of the module isn’t to turn you into a cybersecurity specialist, but it will provide you with a clearer sense of how to manage some important cybersecurity risks and be in a stronger position to engage service providers and consultants to help you if needed.

Any time you spend on this module will go towards increasing the security and resilience of your farm business in areas of preparedness, profitability, and reducing the risk of loss – whether that be data loss, product loss, financial loss, or reputational loss. 

When you take the time to make your farm more secure, both our local community and the wider country’s food system is more secure. 



Click  🕵️⁠⁠Introduction to Agricultural Cybersecurity⁠  to continue.