With 300,000 grocery stores, one million restaurants and 2 million farms, our country’s Food & Ag sector is very big business. Unfortunately, at $3.5 trillion and 5.5% of our gross domestic product, food and ag also generates the kind of money that attracts some very serious criminals.
Preventing and responding to national and international threats, however, requires more resources. This was the focus of the 3rd Annual Northern California FBI – InfraGard Symposium, held at the Cabral Ag Center on July 30.
The primary FBI partnership with private industry is the InfraGard Program, which started after the 2001 September 11 attacks. After a brief background check, industry representatives can receive intelligence and training that are not typically available to the general public.
Here are some of the non-classified, open-source highlights shared at the symposium:
Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) – A number of speakers emphasized the effectiveness of concerned citizens filing information potentially related to illegal activities. SARs can cover anything from violent threats on social media, indications of human trafficking or collection of hazardous materials. These reports are evaluated and entered into the national SAR database, where they are forwarded to the appropriate agency or law enforcement department. A number of dairy processor and trade staff have been trained to help assist producers in completing these reports.
Economic Espionage – A case history of agricultural economic espionage detailed the theft of $120 million worth of trade secrets by a Coca-Cola chemical engineer working for the Chinese government. A startling video produced by the FBI provided additional examples of insider espionage in the energy, agricultural, and military sectors.
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