The increased global demand for improved disease detection and control has resulted in the expansion of diagnostic and research capacity. However, the increase in infectious disease detection capacity has not necessarily been paralleled by an increase in biosafety and biosecurity capacity, particularly in low-resource countries. Low-resource countries face numerous challenges that severely constrain the development, or expansion, of sustainable capacity in biosafety and biosecurity management. This article divides these challenges into nine broad categories: 1) Country-/Regionspecific Regulatory Framework and Guidelines or Standards; 2) Biosafety Awareness; 3) Infrastructure; 4) Equipment, Reagents, and Services; 5) Management Processes and Administrative Controls; 6) Biosafety Curricula; 7) Training; 8) Biosafety Associations, Professional Competency, and Credentialing; and 9) Individual Mentoring and Organizational Twinning.Overcoming these challenges requires the collaborative efforts of representatives from the highest levels of local governments, the international biosafety community (e.g., international, regional, and national biosafety associations), and international development partners (e.g., national government agencies and programs, World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to identify, fund, and execute solutions for sustainable capacity development. Collaboration is required to develop solutions appropriate for the specific needs and available resources within any given country.
Technological innovation has become an integral and inescapable aspect of our daily existence as almost everything of significance in our world now has a cyber (i.e., relating to, or involving computers, computer networks, information technology, and virtual reality) component associated with it. Every facet of our lives is now touched by technology. As such, we're experiencing a digital transformation. Unfortunately, both as individuals and as a society, we're inadequately prepared to embrace the myriad of vulnerabilities presented by cybertechnologies. Unintended cyber vulnerabilities present significant risks to individuals, organizations, governments and economies. Here, we identify current cybersecurity vulnerabilities found in the life science enterprise and discuss the many ways in which these vulnerabilities present risk to laboratory workers in these facilities, the surrounding community and the environment. We also consider the cyberbiosecurity benefits associated with numerous innovations likely to be present in the laboratory of the future. The challenges associated with cyberbiosecurity vulnerabilities are not insurmountable; they simply require thoughtful consideration by equipment designers, software and control systems developers, and by end users. Organizations and the individuals that comprise them must respect, value, and protect their data. End users must train themselves to look at every piece of laboratory equipment and every process from a cyberbiosecurity perspective. With this approach, cyberbiosecurity vulnerabilities can be minimized or eliminated to the benefit of workers, life science organizations, and national security.
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