Impact of cybersecurity awareness on bioinformatics applications

Background: Bioinformatics applications, which involve sensitive genomic data and require large-scale computational storage, are increasingly susceptible to cybersecurity risks, including data breaches, unauthorized access, and threats to data integrity. Given the critical nature of these systems, understanding the role of cybersecurity awareness among professionals utilizing them is essential. Aim: This study investigates the influence of cybersecurity awareness on the utilization of bioinformatics applications among healthcare and IT professionals. It specifically aims to assess levels of cybersecurity knowledge, examine cybersecurity-related behavior, and identify risks associated with insufficient cybersecurity awareness in this domain. Methods: Participants were 457 healthcare and IT professionals-including physicians, pharmacists, nutritionists, software engineers, and data analysts-recruited from hospitals, research institutions, and technology companies across Saudi Arabia. Data were collected via an online survey over a four-week period in April-May 2024. The impact of cybersecurity awareness was evaluated using the Human Aspects of Information Security Questionnaire (HAIS-Q), which assesses knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to cybersecurity in the context of bioinformatics applications. Results: Findings revealed significant gender differences in password management (males: mean = 3.66, females: mean = 2.94, p < 0.0001). IT professionals showed higher awareness in password management (mean = 4.34, p < 0.0001) and incident reporting (mean = 4.36, p < 0.0001) compared to healthcare professionals. Participants aged 45-54 had the highest awareness in information handling (mean = 2.84, p = 0.0029). Correlation analyses indicated stronger relationships between knowledge and behavior in IT professionals (mobile device use: r = 0.314, p < 0.01). Conclusion: The findings underscore the need to bridge the awareness-behavior gap through tailored cybersecurity training. Enhancing professional competence in this area is critical to mitigating risks within bioinformatics systems.