Even small farmers are not immune to cyber attacks. Vital Bircher, a farmer from Hagendorn, Switzerland, between Zurich and Lucerne, recently had his computer systems attacked, which were also connected to the farmer’s milking robots, Luzerner Zeitung first reported. Eventually, one of Bircher’s cows died from the attack.
Bircher initially suspected that it was over because he was no longer receiving information to milk his cows. The farmer was then notified by the company that produces the milking system that he had been robbed. The attack included a piece of ransomware that locked Bircher’s data, with the attackers demanding $10,000 to remove it.
With critical data missing, the rescue attempt comes too late
Bircher initially considered having to agree to the ransomware attacker’s demands. Not getting data on the amount of milk produced was not an emergency for the farmer, whose dairy farm sits on the northern edge of Lake Zug. In addition, milking robots can also work without a computer or network connection in the event of an interruption so that the animals can continue to be milked.
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