National agri-food production chains have become increasingly information-intensive. Farmers use business management systems, trade and transport use logistics systems and the suppliers and processing industry use process automation in their plants. To guarantee product quality and safety and optimise the production process, a lot of data are exchanged between chain parties and many systems are interconnected. Connecting these systems takes security to a higher level.
As a result, dependence on ICT is increasing; its availability and reliability are important for the functioning of food production chains. Up to now, ensuring cyber resilience has been something that each chain party has tackled itself or not.
This initiative lays the foundation for a lasting network of agri-food security specialists who work together to improve cyber resilience in the agri-food sector.
The project, which is subsidised by the Dutch government, aims to achieve the following:
- The establishment of a cyber security baseline as a practical guide for companies within the agri-food chain.
- The development of an assessment tool to determine the level of cyber resilience and receive improvement proposals.
