Dairy Processing -March/April 2022 - 60

ASSOCIATION INSIGHTS
Bolstering
dairy's cyber defenses
The increased reliance on data and
digital technology, connectivity and
AI comes with inherent risks.
by Michael Dykes | International Dairy Foods Association
T
he rapid digital transformation happening across
the dairy supply chain is reason to believe that our
industry will continue to grow and thrive in the coming
years and decades. From use of artificial intelligence in supply
chain logistics to deployment of autonomous vehicles, dairy
companies are investing heavily in the types of technological
development that will be required to compete five, 10 and 15
years from now.
Innovation to date has allowed us to strengthen our focus
on safety, reduce costs, improve our sustainability metrics
and respond quickly to consumer shifts. The increased
reliance on data and digital technology, connectivity and AI
also comes with inherent risks. Cyber criminals are pervasive,
seeking to cause disruption to individuals and businesses for
any number of reasons from financial gain to humiliation to
simple vandalism. These criminals are now acting at a rate of
one attack every 39 seconds, and sophisticated threat actors
including nation-states and their proxies have demonstrated
the ability to cause devastating, long-term harm to individuals
and businesses.
Our dairy industry increasingly finds itself in the crosshairs
of these criminals. We are an established industry with a $753
billion economic impact in the United States alone. We are a
growing industry with billions of dollars in new investment.
We are highly automated and data driven. And we are part of
the critical infrastructure of our nation.
60 MAR-APR 2022 | DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
Attacks on the food industry and our dairy company
members are becoming more regular. Meat processor JBS
suffered the most noteworthy attack in the food sector that
shut down their operations in the United States, Canada and
Australia, among others, reportedly costing the company
millions of dollars in losses. The dairy industry has been
targeted as recently as the fall of 2021.
Aside from the obvious financial and reputational
repercussions, cyber attacks pose risks to employee and
consumer health and safety, equipment operation, and
local environments and communities. COVID-19 and other
global crises have demonstrated what disruption can do
to our businesses, our industry and to the world economy.
We must prepare and harden our defenses to protect the
health, safety, privacy and security of our employees and
customers, and defend our industry's facilities and other
vital infrastructure.
International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), in
partnership with organizations like Dairy.com, McKinsey
& Company and the University of Minnesota, launched a
new suite of programming and services last fall to help the
dairy industry harden its cybersecurity defenses and remain
proactive in our planning. We've built a library of virtual
content on our online Knowledge Center. We've created the
Dairy Technology and Innovation Network, a community of
digital technology and innovation experts from across the
Michael Dykes, president and chief executive officer
and, International Dairy Foods Association
http://www.Dairy.com http://www.DAIRYPROCESSING.COM
Dairy Processing -March/April 2022

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