Know where risks enter shared data exchange
As greenhouse horticulture becomes more connected, data increasingly moves between companies, systems and platforms. That makes cooperation easier, but it also raises a clear question: where can security risks enter the exchange? This becomes especially important once data no longer stays within one company, but moves through data hubs used by several organisations. This public summary describes an exploration of cybersecurity threats in that context. It shows where threats may appear in shared data exchange, which security measures could apply more broadly and which risks need specific attention in greenhouse horticulture.
Innovation package, use case and test type
Greenhouse Horticulture
Collective data
Status: in uitvoering
Technical functionality
Broad knowledge question
Where do cybersecurity risks arise in data hubs?
The key question is where cybersecurity risks emerge when greenhouse horticulture companies exchange data through data hubs that connect systems across company boundaries. These data hubs are relevant to interoperability and autonomous solutions in the greenhouse.
A data hub makes it possible to share data between systems and parties. Precisely during this exchange, it is important to understand where risks may arise and which threats require extra attention within the greenhouse horticulture sector.
Approach
A system overview makes the risk points visible
Experts first build a system overview that shows how data moves between systems and parties. They then use that overview to identify possible threats, compare them with risks seen in practice and assess them in more detail with a cybersecurity expert.
This expert identifies generic solutions for the threats and determines which specific threats remain. The first phase of the project lasts six months. The end result of this phase is a first version of the overview of cybersecurity threats for the greenhouse horticulture sector and possible solutions for stronger security.
Goal
Identify which threats arise in shared data exchange
The goal is to identify cybersecurity threats that occur when data is exchanged across company boundaries. The Robocrops data hub is used as a practical example within NXTGEN Hightech Agrifood, because it shows how shared data exchange can support interoperability and autonomous solutions in greenhouse horticulture.
This keeps the exploration connected to a practical context within NXTGEN Hightech Agrifood, without suggesting that the overview is already definitive.
Result and reflection
A first step towards safer shared data exchange
The exploration should lead to a first version of an overview of cybersecurity threats for the greenhouse horticulture sector and possible solutions. This overview is intended to make the issue more precise and to share knowledge about secure data exchange, interoperability, standardisation and compatibility.
Successful outcomes
The exploration makes the cybersecurity issue around cross-company data exchange concrete for greenhouse horticulture.
The system overview helps to derive possible threats in a structured way.
The analysis shows which solutions are broadly applicable and which threats need specific attention in the greenhouse horticulture sector.
Lessons learned
Secure data exchange requires early insight into threats, especially when systems and companies are connected through data hubs.
Interoperability and autonomous solutions in the greenhouse require not only technical connections, but also attention to cybersecurity.
The outcomes of this phase are a first step and should not be read as a definitive overview.
Within Testing & Validation, this exploration helps clarify which security conditions must be understood before autonomous solutions in the greenhouse can rely on shared data exchange. The exploration aligns with TF-2: testing interoperability, standardisation and compatibility. The status is in progress. For more information, please contact Liesbeth Leurs or Bart Luijten from TNO.