Hack a tractor

Can you hack a tractor?

John Deere asked 20 college students from around the U.S. to attempt to do just that recently at one of its test farms.

Carl Kubalsky, business information security officer for tech stack and cloud, said the first-year event is a great way for Deere to find people with the skills the company needs.

“There is a real need for people that have the talents that they have to come and help us find where there might be some holes or opportunities in our products so we can button those up, continue to be that premiere ag equipment and technology producer, and keep our customers safe in the field.”

The students, said Deere, whose experience ranged from undergraduates to PhD candidates specializing in the fields of computer engineering, electrical engineering, industrial technology and cyber security, were excited by the opportunity to work with us.

The week-long event called the Cyber Tractor Challenge was part of the company’s efforts to proactively find and address vulnerabilities within our operating systems while also attracting some of the best talent in the world.

In a short video produced by Deere, Kubalsky said, “we modeled our event after the cyber auto challenge and cyber truck challenge.”

You can view the video HERE.

One of the students on the video said cyber technology is “relevant to what I know, and, hacking tractors – well that’s just fun.”