Waterloo Times

The $5.9 million ransomware attack on an Iowa farm cooperative reported earlier this week is an example of the national security threats posed by hackers, U.S. House Rep. Ashley Hinson from Iowa said in a recent statement.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Sept. 21, the day after the cyber attack against NEW Cooperative Inc. was first reported, Hinson, who represents Iowa's 1st Congressional District, said she is "closely monitoring" the ransomware hack "by Russia-linked hackers."

The attack isn't unique to NEW Cooperative.

"These continued hacks are a threat to our food security and must be taken seriously," Hinson said. "Agriculture infrastructure is critical infrastructure and the Administration needs to send a strong message that any attempt to hack into U.S. systems and disrupt our supply chain will not be tolerated."

Hinson also applauded NEW Cooperative "for their quick response" and continuing "to be in touch with key agriculture stakeholders impacted."

"My team stands ready to assist if needed," Hinson said

The Associated Press reported on Monday, Sept. 20, that the BlackMatter gang forced NEW Cooperative, a member-owned farmer cooperative with 60 locations in north, central and western Iowa, to take their computer systems offline. NEW Cooperative created workarounds to keep business up and running, according to the AP, which said its information came from a person close to the business.

The hacking gang demanded a $5.9 million ransom in exchange for a decryptor key to unlock NEW Cooperative's scrambled files, Recorded Future security researcher Allan Liska said, according to AP.

The attack occurred as the state's corn and soy harvest is getting under way.

The same day, The Hill quoted a NEW Cooperative spokesperson who confirmed the attack, saying in a company statement that the cooperative "recently identified a cybersecurity incident that is impacting some of our company's devices and systems."

"Out of an abundance of caution, we have proactively taken our systems offline to contain the threat, and we can confirm it has been successfully contained," the spokesperson said, according to The Hill. "We also quickly notified law enforcement and are working closely with data security experts to investigate and remediate the situation."