Mankato, MN — Crystal Valley Cooperative is the latest agricultural business to be the victim of a ransomware attack, according to a post today (Sept. 22) on its Facebook page.
"Crystal Valley has been targeted in a ransomware attack. The attack has infected our the computer systems and interrupted the daily operations of our company," Crystal Valley said.
"Note: due to this, we are unable to accept Visa, Mastercard, and Discover cards at our cardtrols until further notice. Local cards do work.
"As we continue to navigate through this with the help of experts, we appreciate your patience and understanding. We will continue to update with information as it becomes available."
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Based in Mankato, MN, Crystal Valley is a local full-service agricultural cooperative focused on helping crop farmers and livestock producers in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa. The company works with about 2,500 farmers and livestock producers while employing 260 full-time workers.
In a November/December 2018 GRAIN JOURNAL article, it was noted the cooperative handles an annual volume of 41.5 million bushels with 27.5 million bushels of storage at nine locations for corn and soybeans.
Fort Dodge, IA-based NEW Cooperative confirmed on Monday, Sept. 20, that it had been the victim of a Russia-based ransomware attack.
Earlier this month, the FBI released a noticewarning companies in the food and agriculture sector to watch out for ransomware attacks aiming to disrupt supply chains.
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