Former USDA CIO Joyce Hunter Named Advisory Board Chair of Leading Global Agricultural Cybersecurity Advocate, CyberAg

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 6, 2022) – CyberAg announced today the appointment of former USDA Acting CIO Joyce Hunter as Chair of its newly established advisory board. Ms. Hunter was recruited to lead strategy development for CyberAg’s advisory services for the USDA, Farm Credit System and Industry partners. CyberAg was formed in 2019 to advocate for increased cybersecurity investment in the U.S. Food Supply Chain after numerous attacks increased awareness of the vulnerability of the nation’s agricultural infrastructure.

Ms. Hunter was appointed by President Barack Obama as the Deputy CIO, then Acting CIO of the USDA and was named by Security Magazine as one of the most Influential People in Security in 2020. Ms. Hunter brings more than three decades of experience in the information technology industry and currently also serves as executive director of the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), a non-profit cybersecurity think tank.

“Agricultural cybersecurity is a rising concern as farmers adopt IoT technologies more rapidly,” said Ms. Hunter. “We must consider the speed of execution of these initiatives, and CyberAg is positioned to provide the resources necessary to aid American farmers immediately.”

Under Ms. Hunter’s strategic leadership, CyberAg will increase engagement with the USDA and industry to advance and expedite the development of its farmer-focused IT services platform, national compliance program and annual national conference on cybersecurity and agriculture.

About CyberAg: CyberAg provides cybersecurity leadership and resources for American farmers, the United States government and the agricultural industry. CyberAg was developed by the Eastern Shore Entrepreneurship Center (ESEC). ESEC also manages HotDesks, F3 Tech Accelerator and the Chesapeake Ag Innovation Center. For more information, visit https://cyberag.org/