Vital Bircher, a dairy farmer in Hagendorn, Switzerland, faced a serious cyberattack that highlighted the vulnerabilities even small farmers encounter in the digital age. The incident began when Bircher noticed he was no longer receiving milking data from his automated system. Initially suspecting a simple outage, he soon received an alarming notification from the manufacturer of his milking robots, informing him that his computer systems had been hacked. The attack involved ransomware that locked up his data, with the attackers demanding a ransom of $10,000 to decrypt it.
Although the disruption was significant, Bircher initially contemplated whether to comply with the attackers’ demands. The milking robots on his farm could continue functioning without the computer or network connection during an outage, which provided some immediate relief. However, the data loss proved to be critical, especially for monitoring the health and well-being of his cows, including vital information regarding pregnancies. This data is essential for timely medical interventions, which can affect the health of both the cows and their offspring.
Unfortunately, the attack had dire consequences when one of Bircher’s pregnant cows suffered complications that went unnoticed due to the lack of data from the milking system. As a result, the calf died in the womb, leading to a situation where Bircher had to make the difficult decision to euthanize the mother cow after efforts to save her failed. This incident underscored the importance of real-time data in livestock management and the potential repercussions of cyber incidents on animal welfare.
In total, Bircher estimated the financial damage from the cyberattack at around 6,000 Swiss francs, covering veterinary costs and the expense of replacing his compromised computer. Despite the attackers’ demands, he did not pay the ransom, ultimately rendering the hackers unsuccessful in their scheme. This incident serves as a reminder of the increasing cyber threats facing the agricultural sector, prompting a need for better security measures to protect farmers and their operations.
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