Second farming cooperative shut down by ransomware this week

Crystal Valley, a Minnesota-based farming cooperative, has been hit by a ransomware attack, causing them to shut down their IT systems and their daily operations to be severely interrupted.

In a statement, the company confirmed it had been targeted in a ransomware attack, forcing it to shut down its payment systems. It’s unknown which threat actor targeted the company. 

Crystal Valley is the second agriculture business to be hit with a ransomware attack this week. Iowa-based grain cooperative NEW Cooperative Inc. was struck by BlackMatter ransomware recently. The threat actors demanded a $5.9 million ransom.  

Anurag Kahol, CTO and co-founder of Bitglass, says this attack highlights how common ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure have become.

He says, “Unfortunately, cybercriminals are more likely to target and put up a hefty ransom for large organizations that are vital to the flow of the U.S. economy in hopes that they will hastily pay the ransom to recover their operations. To prevent ransomware attacks, organizations must obtain full visibility and control over their entire IT ecosystem. Comprehensive security platforms such as a secure access service edge (SASE) can deliver end-to-end threat protection while actively identifying and remediating both known and zero-day threats. With a multi-faceted, unified solution in place, organizations can proactively stay ahead of sophisticated threats.”

Source: https://www.securitymagazine.com/articles/96157-second-farming-cooperative-shut-down-by-ransomware-this-week