Cyberbiosecurity and Public Health in the Age of COVID-19

Book · Wed Sep 08 04:00:00 EDT 2021

OSTI ID:1827303

Adler, Aaron ^[1]; Beal, Jake ^[1]; Lancaster, Mary J. ^[2]; Wyschogrod, Dan ^[3]

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1. Raytheon/BBN Technologies
2. BATTELLE (PACIFIC NW LAB)
3. Co-author

Cyberbiosecurity, the aspect of biosecurity involving the digital representation of biological data, had already been emerging as a matter of public concern even prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Key issues of concern include, among others, the privacy of patient data, the security of public health databases, the integrity of diagnostic test data, the integrity of public biological databases, the security implications of automated laboratory systems and the security of proprietary biological engineering advances. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the importance of digital resources in combatting it, concern about the potential for cyber attacks by state-based or non-state actors has been elevated. To illuminate the challenges, we focus on the cyber vulnerabilities that need to be addressed in public health activities such as disease surveillance and outbreak management. In particular, we examine cyber issues raised by the accelerated pace of development for COVID mitigations, treatments, and vaccines.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 1827303
• Report Number(s): PNNL-SA-156091
• Country of Publication: Netherlands
• Language: English

Related Subjects

cybersecurity
biosecurity