Cyber-biosecurity; A Paradigm Shift in the Field of Life Sciences and Agriculture Sector

Abstract

The fields of information technology (IT) and cybersecurity are becoming more integrated with the life sciences. This convergence is a fundamental driver in the boom of biotechnology research and its industrial applications in health care, agriculture, manufacturing, automation, artificial intelligence, and synthetic biology. Other drivers include artificial intelligence and genetic engineering. Many market sectors are now susceptible to dangers posed by the digital interface as a result of the rising digitization of information and the handling mechanisms for biological materials. Cyber-biosecurity, a new topic developing at the intersection of the biological sciences and the information technology fields, will be developed to handle this expanding scenario. Life sciences frequently merge with information technology and cyber-security in the new digital era. With the advancements in biomedical research and the scientific advancement of contemporary biotechnology, there is an exponential growth in the number of related information sets, necessitating cloud storage, cutting-edge management and analysis techniques, as well as adequate content protection. The worldwide, national, and local collaboration among transdisciplinary sectors and various public-private system players are only a few examples of the common, many, and diversified acts that make up the bioeconomy landscape. In addition, cyber-biosecurity concerns bring attention to an environment that is highly vulnerable and is developing quickly. Additionally, the global spread of the new virus SARS-CoV-2 has created a pandemic context that has highlighted some issues (such as the significance of strategic autonomy in supply chains for food, medical, and pharmaceutical products, the development of critical functional infrastructures, the appropriate prevention and protection measures, including the management of rapid and effective responses to pandemics or other potential malicious actions with regard to the Vulnerabilities like data confidentiality (i.e., clinical and genetic information), cloud storage, and intellectual property may present opportunities that could be taken advantage of as science advances, depending on the application of new technologies in fields like artificial intelligence, process automation, bioinformatics, and synthetic biology. The strongest feasible cyber defense must anticipate and include potential biological threats into its procedures. This review summarizes all the aspects of new discipline of cyber-biosecurity.