Sponsors (9)
The bill strengthens food‑sector cybersecurity and resilience by clarifying roles, expanding threat assessments, and funding exercises, but it also risks imposing new reporting/compliance burdens, confidentiality concerns, and centralized authority that could strain small producers and require careful implementation and funding.
Farmers, processors, distributors, and state agencies get clearer statutory coverage, aligned cybersecurity definitions, and a designated federal lead (USDA Secretary) and ISAC for the food and agriculture sector, improving who is responsible and how information is shared.
Farmers and food producers receive clearer, regular information on cyber threats and sector vulnerabilities so they can make better, targeted protective investments.
Consumers—particularly in rural communities—are likely to face fewer disruptions to food availability and safety because assessments, best practices, and coordination identify risks and recommend mitigation steps.
Many small farms, retailers, and food businesses could become subject to new or expanded federal reporting and compliance expectations because of broad statutory definitions and references to DHS terms.
Preparing assessments, participating in exercises, and implementing recommended protections can impose meaningful administrative and financial burdens on farms, small food businesses, and state/local agencies.
Sharing sensitive operational or cyber information with federal agencies and ISACs raises confidentiality, liability, and competitive-risk concerns for private companies, utilities, and farms.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 26, 2025 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress February 26, 2025
Requires the Department of Agriculture, working with CISA and other federal partners, to carry out recurring cybersecurity work for the agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector: a biennial risk assessment and annual cross-sector crisis simulation exercises for five years. The Secretary must consult the sector-specific ISAC and sector coordinating councils, report findings and recommendations to Congress, and is authorized $1 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030 to support the exercises.