Almost half of business owners in the floriculture sector are unaware of the consequences of cyber-attacks

In the highly digitalised floriculture sector, 54% of business owners appear to be well aware of the cyber risks they face. The remainder are poorly (12%) or moderately (33%) informed. 3 in 4 growers and buyers (77%) barely consider the far-reaching operational consequences a cyber-attack can have. The willingness to improve this situation is there; six out of ten business owners are working on making their businesses secure online. This is according to the latest Trend Report on Floriculture, published by Royal FloraHolland.

A positive development is that almost half of growers and buyers (48%) have their cybersecurity fully covered or have taken major steps towards it. In the first trend report, published in July 2025, this figure was 42%. Also, 12% of business owners have recently started making their businesses safe online.

Digitalisation opens doors, but also has risks
Growers and buyers are optimistic about digitalisation in the sector. A growing number of business owners in the floriculture sector are digitalising. This offers opportunities, but also carries risks. Here, most business owners think of digital consequences, such as a hack preventing sales or leading to a leak of personal data. Only 23% of those surveyed think about the operational consequences of a cyber-attack.

André van der Linden, CIO of Royal FloraHolland: ‘We see that the focus is mainly on incidents such as hacks or data breaches. But many machines and systems are also controlled digitally. If they experience a cyber-attack, it is realistic to expect businesses to lose control of climate computers, greenhouse controls and cold stores. This results in loss of quality and possible loss of production, in whole or in part. And can therefore lead to serious financial consequences’

Urgency remains
Six in ten business owners have made significant progress with cybersecurity, but four in ten have not. ‘It’s encouraging that so many business owners are already taking steps to ensure their businesses are cyber-safe. However, I would also like to encourage the remaining 40 per cent to take action,’ says Van der Linden. ‘Whether you are a small or large company, the right cyber resilience is beneficial to the entire industry. We want digital security to become as standard in businesses as fire safety.’

Royal FloraHolland is helping business owners do this by actively investing in digital resilience. Van der Linden: ‘Together with the Greenport Cyber Resilience Centre, we are building a secure digital infrastructure for the floriculture sector. And with the RFH Cyber Subscription, we provide growers and buyers with practical support to help them increase their digital resilience. Cybersecurity is not just a matter for the company’s IT department; it is a shared responsibility for the entire sector.’

Curious about the rest of the report? Download the report via the link here.