Who really owns America’s farmland, and why does it matter? In this deep dive into the secretive world of foreign investment in U.S. agricultural land, Kristin Del Rosso and Madeleine Devost explore the growing trend of foreign ownership, which has surged by 50% since 2017, and its profound implications for national security. Using the USDA’s data, the presenters shed light on how these investments could potentially impact everything from local economies to national defense.
The talk dives into the complexities of the USDA’s data collection methods, revealing how manual processes and outdated systems obscure the true extent of foreign ownership. It also discusses the critical role of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in safeguarding national interests, and the urgent need for improved data sharing and automation between CFIUS and the USDA.
Through real-life examples, including controversial land purchases near sensitive military sites, Kristin and Madeleineillustrate the potential risks and propose actionable recommendations to enhance transparency and security.
About the Authors
Kristin Del Rosso is co-founder and managing director of DevSec, a research firm that provides advanced analytics blended with cyber investigation techniques to support analytics, investigations, and intelligence enrichment in novel ways. Prior to DevSec, she worked as the Public Sector Field CTO at Sophos, and has a background in security product management, threat intelligence, and reverse engineering.
Madeleine Devost is an intelligence analyst at Nisos focusing on open-source investigations. Prior to Nisos, she worked as a threat intelligence and investigations consultant for a number of firms including Excivity, RiskIQ and Microsoft.
About LABScon
This presentation was featured live at LABScon 2024, an immersive 3-day conference bringing together the world’s top cybersecurity minds, hosted by SentinelOne’s research arm, SentinelLABS.
Keep up with all the latest on LABScon 2025 here.
