Food and agriculture webinar addresses cyber security in New Mexico

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico food and agriculture industry is encouraged to attend a cybersecurity webinar at 3 p.m. Thursday, July 8. The Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center (Center) is offering the webinar free-of-charge to New Mexico businesses.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Current cyber threat landscape.

• Recent cyberattacks targeting or impacting the agriculture sector.

• Basic cyber hygiene recommendations operations can implement.

The Center is a collaboration between New Mexico State University (NMSU), the NMSU College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the Cooperative Extension Service and the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA).

The webinar will include a ransomware presentation from George Reeves, New Mexico’s Cybersecurity Advisor for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Register for the webinar at https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvc-6gqjIiHtwClgpiCXluZXcHybRFQVRg.

New Mexico Agriculture Secretary Jeff Witte said it’s more important now than ever to be vigilant when it comes to cybersecurity.

“We rely on cyber connectivity more today than we realize – from the phones in our pockets, to the watches on our wrists, to the complex computer systems that guide our business transactions on a daily basis,” said Witte. “Unfortunately, we have recently seen what bad actors are capable of doing, and the food industry has not been immune to these cyberattacks. It’s our priority at NMDA and at the NMSU Southwest Border Food Protection and Emergency Preparedness Center to inform and educate the industry in order to avoid any damage or disruptions to businesses or the food supply chain from cyber events. We must all take appropriate steps to protect this critical infrastructure in our own businesses and in our personal lives.”