ISO 24882: The New Global Standard for Agricultural Machinery Cybersecurity
The digital transformation of agriculture has created unprecedented efficiency gains—GPS-guided tractors, autonomous harvesters, IoT-enabled irrigation systems, and AI-driven crop monitoring have revolutionized farming operations. But this connectivity comes with a dangerous downside: modern farm equipment has become a target for cybercriminals. Enter ISO 24882, the emerging international standard designed to secure the agricultural machinery that feeds the world.
For a broader view of how ISO 24882 fits alongside other critical agricultural standards, see our comprehensive guide: Understanding the Evolving Landscape of Agricultural Machinery Standards.
Why Agricultural Cybersecurity Matters Now
Agriculture is the seventh most-targeted industry in the United States for cybersecurity threats, according to Forbes. More alarmingly, Check Point Research reported a staggering 101% increase in cyber incidents targeting the agricultural sector between August 2024 and August 2025.
The threat landscape is far from theoretical. In May 2022, AGCO—one of the world's largest agricultural equipment manufacturers—suffered a ransomware attack that shut down operations across multiple continents, sending over 1,000 employees home from production facilities in France alone. The timing was particularly devastating, striking during the critical planting season when farmers desperately needed equipment and parts.
Perhaps the most dramatic demonstration of agricultural machinery vulnerabilities came from Ukraine in 2022, when a dealership remotely disabled John Deere tractors that Russian forces had seized. While this instance served a defensive purpose, it highlighted a chilling reality: whoever controls these systems can render multi-million dollar farming operations completely inoperable.
For detailed analysis of IoT, AI, and automation trends driving these cybersecurity challenges, read: Agricultural Technology Revolution: IoT, AI, and Automation Driving Cybersecurity Standards in 2025.
What Is ISO 24882?
ISO 24882, officially titled "Agricultural Machinery, Tractors, and Earth-Moving Machinery — Cybersecurity Engineering," is an international standard currently under development by ISO Technical Committee 23, Subcommittee 19 (ISO/TC 23/SC 19), which focuses on agricultural electronics.
The standard specifies engineering requirements for cybersecurity risk assessment across the entire lifecycle of electrical and electronic (E/E) systems in agricultural machinery—from initial concept through product development, production, operation, maintenance, and ultimately decommissioning.
As of late 2025, ISO 24882 has progressed to the Draft International Standard (DIS) stage, with the DIS registered in October 2025. The standard comprises approximately 60 pages of requirements and guidelines, representing years of collaborative work between international stakeholders.
Core Objectives of ISO 24882
The standard establishes several foundational objectives for the agricultural machinery industry:
Creating a Unified Cybersecurity Framework: ISO 24882 provides a structured approach to cybersecurity processes that spans the entire equipment lifecycle. This ensures consistent protection from the earliest design phases through the equipment's eventual retirement.
Establishing Common Language: One of the most significant barriers to effective cybersecurity is miscommunication between stakeholders. The standard creates shared vocabulary and definitions that enable OEMs, suppliers, dealers, and end-users to discuss and manage cybersecurity risks with clarity.
Addressing Industry-Specific Challenges: Unlike road vehicles that maintain constant connectivity, agricultural machinery often operates in remote, rural environments with limited network access. ISO 24882 acknowledges these unique operational contexts and tailors its requirements accordingly.
Enabling Supply Chain Alignment: Modern agricultural equipment involves dozens or hundreds of component suppliers. The standard provides guidelines that facilitate cybersecurity coordination across this complex supply chain ecosystem.
Key Security Requirements
ISO 24882 establishes specific security requirements across multiple domains:
Hardware Security: Physical protection measures for electronic components are essential, particularly given that agricultural equipment operates in harsh environmental conditions and may be left unattended in remote locations for extended periods.
Software Security: The standard mandates secure coding practices, robust authentication mechanisms, and secure update procedures. This is critical given that modern tractors can contain more lines of code than many commercial aircraft.
Communication Security: As machinery increasingly communicates with cloud platforms, other equipment, and farm management systems, ISO 24882 requires protocols for secure data transmission between all components and external systems.
Data Protection: Agricultural data—including yield maps, soil composition data, and operational patterns—represents significant competitive and financial value. The standard ensures confidentiality, integrity, and availability of this sensitive information.
Lifecycle Coverage
One of ISO 24882's most important aspects is its comprehensive lifecycle approach:
Concept Phase: Cybersecurity considerations must be integrated from the earliest stages of product planning, ensuring security is designed into equipment rather than bolted on afterward.
Development Phase: Security requirements must be specified, implemented, and verified throughout the engineering process, with appropriate threat analysis and risk assessment.
Production Phase: Manufacturing processes must maintain security integrity, preventing the introduction of vulnerabilities during equipment assembly and configuration.
Operation and Maintenance: The standard addresses ongoing security management, including vulnerability monitoring, security updates, and incident response procedures throughout the equipment's operational life.
The intersection of cybersecurity and equipment maintenance raises important questions about farmer access to repair tools and diagnostic systems. Explore this critical debate in our articles: Right to Repair: Agricultural Tech Compliance Requirements and Open vs. Closed Source in Agriculture Equipment.
Decommissioning: Even at end-of-life, secure procedures must prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data and systems. Proper data sanitization and system deactivation are required.
ISO 24882 vs. ISO/SAE 21434: Understanding the Differences
ISO 24882 shares its fundamental architecture with ISO/SAE 21434, the established cybersecurity standard for road vehicles published in 2021. Both standards emphasize lifecycle-long security management, thorough risk assessment, and supply chain coordination. However, significant differences reflect the unique characteristics of each sector.
Operational Environment: Agricultural machinery operates in isolated, rural settings where connectivity is often limited or intermittent. ISO 24882 accounts for scenarios where equipment may operate for extended periods without network access, whereas ISO/SAE 21434 assumes the high connectivity typical of modern road vehicles.
Update Frequency: Road vehicles increasingly rely on over-the-air (OTA) updates for security patches. Agricultural equipment may have less frequent update opportunities due to connectivity limitations and seasonal usage patterns. ISO 24882 addresses these constraints with appropriate update management strategies.
Threat Landscape: While automotive cybersecurity must address threats like remote vehicle hijacking and V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication attacks, agricultural machinery faces different primary threats—including unauthorized access to proprietary farming data, equipment sabotage, and ransomware targeting critical operations.
Regulatory Context: ISO/SAE 21434 closely aligns with UN Regulation No. 155 (UN R155), which mandates cybersecurity management systems for road vehicles. ISO 24882 is being developed with alignment to the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), which establishes broader requirements for all digital products.
Regulatory Alignment: The Cyber Resilience Act Connection
The EU Cyber Resilience Act represents the most significant regulatory driver for ISO 24882 adoption. The CRA establishes mandatory cybersecurity requirements for products with digital elements sold in the European market, with implementation deadlines expected around mid-2027.
For comprehensive guidance on CRA compliance, see our detailed resources: European Union Adopts Cyber Resilience Act (CRA): A Landmark in Global Cybersecurity Regulation and EU Cyber Resilience Act Implementation Guide: Building Secure Products for Europe's Digital Future.
Critically, agricultural machinery falls within the CRA's scope—there are no exclusions for farm equipment categories. This means all agricultural vehicles and machinery will need to demonstrate CRA compliance by the implementation deadline.
ISO 24882 is being designed to address the CRA's essential requirements while incorporating best practices from ISO/SAE 21434 as optional enhancements. For manufacturers, compliance with ISO 24882 will provide a clear pathway to meeting CRA obligations.
The standard also aligns with UNECE WP.29 R155 requirements, which are expanding beyond road vehicles to cover additional vehicle categories including agricultural machinery. This regulatory convergence makes ISO 24882 compliance increasingly essential for global market access.
Understanding the broader EU cybersecurity regulatory landscape is essential for compliance planning. See our guides on NIS2 Directive: EU Cybersecurity Compliance Requirements and the EU Cybersecurity Standards Mapping Tool for cross-framework compliance mapping.
Real-World Threat Scenarios
Understanding the threats that ISO 24882 aims to address helps illustrate the standard's importance:
Ransomware Attacks: The FBI's 2023 Internet Crime Complaint Center Report documented 2,825 ransomware complaints resulting in approximately $59.6 billion in losses, with food and agriculture among the 16 critical infrastructure sectors targeted. A ransomware attack during planting or harvest season could devastate an entire year's production.
Phishing and Account Takeover: In documented incidents, farmers have accidentally disabled milking machines and tractors after clicking malicious links in phishing emails. With many modern systems using cloud-based management platforms, a single compromised account can provide access to an entire fleet of connected equipment.
Supply Chain Attacks: The SolarWinds incident demonstrated how attackers can compromise software vendors to inject malicious code into updates distributed to thousands of customers. Similar attacks targeting agricultural equipment manufacturers could simultaneously affect farms worldwide.
GPS Spoofing and Signal Interference: In May 2024, solar storms disrupted GPS signals across the United States, rendering precision planting equipment inoperable during the critical planting window. While natural in origin, this incident demonstrated how dependent modern agriculture has become on electronic systems—and how vulnerable these systems are to interference, whether natural or malicious.
Physical System Manipulation: Researchers have demonstrated scenarios where attackers could manipulate irrigation systems to waste water or damage crops, alter livestock environmental controls to affect animal health, or modify equipment settings to cause mechanical failures.
Effective incident response is critical when attacks occur. For guidance on integrating incident response into your cybersecurity strategy, see: Beyond Reaction: Integrating Incident Response into Your Cybersecurity Risk Management Strategy with NIST SP 800-61r3.
Implications for OEMs and the Supply Chain
ISO 24882's finalization will require significant adaptation across the agricultural machinery industry:
Design Process Changes: OEMs will need to integrate cybersecurity engineering into product development workflows, potentially requiring new expertise, tools, and processes. Security threat analysis and risk assessment will become mandatory activities rather than optional considerations.
Supply Chain Management: The standard's supply chain requirements mean that OEMs must establish cybersecurity expectations for component suppliers and verify compliance throughout the procurement process. This may necessitate new contract terms, audit procedures, and supplier qualification criteria.
For insights on securing converged IT/OT/IoT environments common in modern agricultural operations, see: Navigating the Connected Frontier: Securing Your Enterprise in the Age of IT/OT/IoT Convergence.
Documentation and Evidence: Compliance will require comprehensive documentation of cybersecurity activities, risk assessments, and mitigation measures. Organizations must maintain records that demonstrate due diligence throughout the product lifecycle.
Ongoing Monitoring: Post-production cybersecurity doesn't end at delivery. OEMs must establish processes for vulnerability monitoring, security incident response, and coordinated disclosure when issues are discovered.
Training and Expertise: Many agricultural machinery companies lack dedicated cybersecurity expertise. Building internal capabilities or partnering with specialized security firms will be essential for compliance.
Preparing for ISO 24882 Compliance
Organizations should begin preparing now, even before the standard's final publication:
Gap Assessment: Evaluate current engineering processes against the emerging ISO 24882 requirements. Identify areas where cybersecurity considerations are absent or insufficient.
Leverage Automotive Experience: Companies with exposure to ISO/SAE 21434 compliance in automotive applications can apply many of the same principles and processes. The standards share fundamental approaches to risk assessment and lifecycle management.
Build Security Culture: Technical compliance alone is insufficient. Organizations must develop a security-conscious culture where all stakeholders understand cybersecurity's importance and their role in maintaining it.
For a comprehensive view of how cyber risk management integrates with compliance obligations, see: Cyber Risk Through a Compliance Lens: Navigating the Regulatory Landscape.
Engage the Supply Chain: Begin discussions with component suppliers about cybersecurity expectations. Early engagement allows suppliers time to develop their own capabilities before compliance becomes mandatory.
Invest in Tools and Training: Identify necessary threat modeling tools, vulnerability assessment capabilities, and security testing resources. Ensure engineering teams receive appropriate cybersecurity training.
The Path Forward
ISO 24882 represents a crucial step toward securing the digital transformation of agriculture. As farming operations become increasingly dependent on connected, automated systems, the consequences of cybersecurity failures extend beyond individual farms to threaten food security at regional and national scales.
The standard's development reflects growing recognition that agricultural machinery cybersecurity cannot remain an afterthought. Just as functional safety standards transformed equipment reliability over past decades, ISO 24882 will establish cybersecurity as a fundamental engineering discipline for agricultural machinery.
For industry stakeholders, the message is clear: the time to prepare is now. Organizations that proactively embrace cybersecurity engineering will be better positioned for regulatory compliance, market access, and—most importantly—protecting the agricultural operations that sustain global food production.
The agricultural sector's digital future depends on getting cybersecurity right. ISO 24882 provides the roadmap.
This article provides general information about ISO 24882 based on publicly available draft information. As the standard remains under development, specific requirements may change before final publication. Organizations should consult the official ISO documentation and qualified cybersecurity professionals for compliance guidance.
Related Articles
Agricultural Machinery & Standards
- Understanding the Evolving Landscape of Agricultural Machinery Standards — Deep dive into ISO 24882, ISO 11783 (ISOBUS), and ISO 25119
- Agricultural Technology Revolution: IoT, AI, and Automation Driving Cybersecurity Standards in 2025
- Right to Repair: Agricultural Tech Compliance Requirements
- Open vs. Closed Source in Agriculture Equipment
EU Cybersecurity Regulations
- EU Cyber Resilience Act Implementation Guide
- European Union Adopts Cyber Resilience Act (CRA)
- NIS2 Directive Guide: EU Cybersecurity Compliance Requirements
- EU Cybersecurity Standards Mapping Tool
- EU Data Act Compliance Guide
