Cyberbiosecurity: A Call for Cooperation in a New Threat Landscape

Area of Science:

• Life Sciences
• Information Technology (IT)
• Cybersecurity
• Biotechnology

Background:

• The life sciences increasingly intersect with IT and cybersecurity, driving rapid advancements in biotechnology.
• Digitization of biological materials and processes creates new vulnerabilities at the digital interface.
• Industrial applications span healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, AI, and synthetic biology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define the emerging field of cyberbiosecurity.
• To summarize the current cyberbiosecurity landscape and identify vulnerabilities.
• To advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration in developing threat mitigation strategies.

Main Methods:

• Review of the current cyberbiosecurity landscape.
• Identification of vulnerabilities at the intersection of life sciences and IT.
• Analysis of existing and potential threats to digitized biological systems.

Main Results:

• The convergence of life sciences and IT presents significant cybersecurity challenges.
• Vulnerabilities exist across various sectors applying biotechnology, including healthcare and agriculture.
• A lack of formalized collaboration hinders effective threat response.

Conclusions:

• Cyberbiosecurity is essential for managing risks in the increasingly digitized life sciences.
• Formalized, interdisciplinary collaboration is needed to develop robust early response systems.
• Proactive anticipation, identification, and mitigation of threats are critical for future security.