As machines become digitized, cybersecurity is more of a concern than ever before. Agricultural equipment manufacturers are meeting digital threats head on — and together. Recently, John Deere, CNH Industrial and Agco collaborated to host CyberTractor Challenge, an annual event that lets a few dozen students try to hack real farm equipment.

Over four days, participants receive “training from professors who are tied to the nonprofit” CyberTractor Challenge, says James Johnson, John Deere’s chief information security officer. After that, they spend time with mentors and try to “hack” equipment and present their findings on the last day.

“It’s the recruiting platform, first and foremost,” Johnson says. “The idea is to get these kids in to see which ones take to it, and like it. If we can attract and maintain [connections with] students as they finish their degrees in college, once they graduate, we can give them full-time jobs.”

Globally, there’s a well-documented talent shortage in all sectors of cybersecurity. Bringing talented students into agriculture benefits all brands, regardless of paint color, so there’s incentive to work together.

“We’re all fighting the same adversaries,” Johnson says, highlighting the global nature of cyber threats. Different brands also “have the same customers. Some farmers like to mix and match their fleets. We understand that, and we want to make sure that our equipment runs the right way for them.”

The event benefits manufacturers in other ways, too. Young people and veteran cybersecurity professionals work differently. They don’t think alike.

“The most interesting thing to me about what the students bring to the table is how they think about trying to break these things — how they try to exploit them,” he says. “That’s really eye-opening for us — letting some of these folks who have been doing this for 30 years see how these students think about [hacking], and learn from them in that space.”

For more information, visit cybertractorchallenge.org.