Electric Utility Lessons for Food & Ag with Kylie McClanahan

On this episode of Bites and Bytes Podcast, Kristin Demoranville talks with Kylie McClanahan, Chief Technology Officer at Bastazo, about what food and agriculture can learn from the electric utility sector. With nearly a decade of experience in the electric utility sector and a PhD in computer science, Kylie brings a systems-thinking perspective to securing the technology that underpins food and agriculture.

From chicken houses and precision farming to rural broadband and GPS-dependent tractors, Kylie explains how cyber risks in agriculture are more tangible than many realize. She shares why treating people as the strongest line of defense and building community support models like mutual aid may be the key to keeping our food supply secure.

This episode is a reminder that cybersecurity in food and agriculture isn’t abstract: when the technology behind farming fails, the impact reaches every dinner table.

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Guest Contact Information

Kylie’s LinkedIn

Where Kylie works:  Bastazo

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Episode Key Highlights 00:09:55 – Community and systems thinking as a lens for resilience in OT and agriculture. 00:12:13 – The reality of alert fatigue, decision fatigue, and vulnerability overload. 00:17:29 – Chicken house demo story: Peeps in a toaster oven to show real-world ICS risks. 00:19:21 – How rural broadband and connectivity gaps impact digital farming security. 00:25:00 – Practical lessons food and agriculture can learn from regulated utilities.

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🛡️ About AnzenSage & AnzenOT

AnzenSage is a cybersecurity advisory firm specializing in security resilience for the food, agriculture, zoo, and aquarium industries.  AnzenSage offers practical, strategic guidance to help organizations anticipate risks and build resilience.  Learn more about their offerings at anzensage.com.​

AnzenOT:  Industrial Cyber Risk — Simple.  Smart.  Swift. AnzenOT is the SaaS risk management platform built to bring clarity and control to Operational Technology (OT) cybersecurity.  Designed for critical infrastructure sectors, AnzenOT translates technical risk into clear, actionable insight for decision-makers.  Explore the platform at anzenot.com. For demo requests or inquiries, email [e-mail] or [e-mail]