With recent cyberattacks on the Colonial pipeline and, much closer to home, a ransomware attack impacting the world’s largest beef producer, JBS, more than ever food safety professionals need to lace up their boxing gloves and employ some new moves to compete for resources with other important enterprise risks.
Food safety incidents may not result in payment of millions in bitcoin to those holding data for ransom, but our industry still pays dearly for the consequences of food safety/food quality (FSQA) going awry. Recalls and foodborne illness outbreaks are mainstream news and fill our social media feeds, significantly increasing risk of reputational damage and whittling away customer and consumer trust. Food safety incidents may also involve actual monetary loss such as regulatory fines, product recalls and associated costs, production downtime, equipment replacement, litigation, etc. So, why do our IT counterparts receive what seems to be a bottomless piggy bank to mitigate cyber risks, and food safety gets the last few pennies left over?