Report: China Could Use Tractors to Spy on Farmers in Britain

Chinese-made technology embedded in British farm machinery could give hackers a way to monitor the country’s food-production system, experts have warned.

The warning comes from the Coalition for Secure Technology, whose report was obtained by The Telegraph and cited by Rzeczpospolita. Analysts say Britain’s food production is exposed because connected equipment is used across farms nationwide. The machinery includes GPS-guided tractors, agricultural drones and automated irrigation systems.

Many modern machines connected to the internet use cellular Internet of Things modules. About 70% of those modules are produced in China, according to the report. Security experts say state-linked Chinese hackers could potentially take control of the devices and put users at risk.

The report argues that spying through agricultural machinery could allow China to identify “critical points in Britain’s food-production system,” including information about crop yields, production forecasts and livestock numbers. The article also recalls an earlier CST warning that internet-connected household devices, including smart thermostats and refrigerators, could face Chinese espionage or interference through factory-installed vulnerabilities that enable remote control.

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identification of critical points in Britain’s food-production system