Cybersecurity threats and mitigation measures in agriculture 4.0 and 5.0

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to explore cybersecurity threats in agriculture 4.0 and 5.0, as well as possible mitigation strategies. A secondary method was employed involving narrative review in which many studies on cybersecurity were sampled and analyzed. The study showed that the main risks that increase cybersecurity threats to agricultural organizations include poor cybersecurity practices, lack of regulations and policies on cybersecurity, and outdated IT software. Moreover, the review indicated that the main cybersecurity threat in agriculture 4.0 and 5.0 involves denial of service attacks that target servers and disrupt the functioning of relevant smart technologies, including equipment for livestock tracking, climate monitoring, logistics and warehousing, and crop monitoring. The analysis also revealed that malware attacks occur when hackers change the code of a system application to access sensitive farm-related data and may alter the operations of the digitized systems. Some of the impacts of cybersecurity breaches were noted to include data loss, reduced efficiency of digitized systems, and reduced food security. A crucial mitigation strategy against cybersecurity threats includes using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and quantum computing to improve malware detection in Internet of Things (IoT) digital equipment and ensure faster response to any threats. The other mitigation measures include training employees on best cybersecurity practices and creating guidelines and regulatory standards on best cybersecurity practices.