Cyber and Information Security in the Bioeconomy

Titus, Alexander J.; Hamilton, Kathryn E.; Holko, Michelle

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-26034-6_3

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Automation and digitization in agriculture and life sciences have marked impacts on how items in the biosphere are produced, processed, and supplied, as well as opportunities for disease diagnosis, prevention, and cure (Subeesh & Mehta, 2021). However, the accompanying CYBERBIOSECURITY WORKFORCE PREPARATION proliferation of cyber-physical systems increases the chances of cyberattacks on agriculture and life sciences systems (Titus et al, 2023). Despite similar foci on protection and security, addressing emerging challenges at the intersections of cybersecurity and biosecurity is difficult, as each field has different domain knowledge and therefore focuses on different aspects of the threats (Duncan et al, 2021;Richardson, Conell, et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The life sciences' conventional approaches to biosafety and biosecurity are insufficient for protecting against emerging cyber risks (Berger & Schneck, 2019;Duncan et al, 2019;Sobien et al, 2023). Moreover, conventional approaches to cybersecurity are insufficient for protecting against emergent threats to human health and biological life (Murch et al, 2018;Pauwels, 2021;Titus et al, 2023;Walsh, 2022). As noted by AI EdgeLabs (2022), "High-impact and sophisticated assaults on vital infrastructure organizations, including agriculture, are becoming increasingly widespread around the world, posing a serious threat to the food chain, human, and livestock food security" (para.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Preparation

Adeoye,

Lindberg,

Bagby

et al. 2024

nactaj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Cyberbiosecurity is an emerging field at the convergence of life sciences and the digital world. As technological advances improve operational processes and expose them to vulnerabilities in agriculture and life sciences, cyberbiosecurity has become increasingly important for addressing contemporary concerns. Unfortunately, at this time, educational opportunities for cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation are limited. Stakeholders’ perceptions may help guide cyberbiosecurity workforce preparation efforts and bridge the gap from the classroom to the field. Toward this end, we identified stakeholders in education, private industry, and state agencies in Virginia and sought their input through both an online survey and focus groups. Findings suggest limited awareness and understanding of cyberbiosecurity. Results indicate that both formal and non-formal learning components—including short modules and comprehensive standalone courses—are important for cyberbiosecurity education programming. Stakeholders tied potential success of education programming to systems thinking and collaborative designs. Moreover, results reveal insights into concerns at the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), which is central to effective workforce preparation for today’s agriculture and life sciences professionals. Continuous interdisciplinary collaboration and academia-industry partnerships will be critical for developing robust cyberbiosecurity education and securing the future of agriculture.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Preparation

Adeoye,

Lindberg,

Bagby

et al. 2024

nactaj

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Data science and data literacy play a crucial role in engaging learners and educational programs in cyberbiosecurity. The bioeconomy is vulnerable to cyber threats, and the dependence on proprietary intellectual property, cyber-physical systems, and government-regulated production environments makes it essential to have a strong understanding of data science and cybersecurity (Titus et al, 2023). Yet insufficient effort is geared toward obtaining, tracking, organizing, and analyzing data related to the risks of cyberattacks on ALS systems (Guttieres et al, 2019).…”

Section: Data Literacy As a Baseline Skill Required For Cyberbiosecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Vulnerabilities create loopholes that favor conducive threat environments for threat actors and cyberattackers to capitalize on, gain access to, and disrupt the normal functioning of operational systems. In agriculture, disruptions to critical data and infrastructure pose danger to sustainable food production and supply and hamper the bioeconomy significantly (Chi et al, 2017;Salam, 2020;Titus et al, 2023). As a sector that has been more heavily invested in mechanical devices than technology, the realities of digital transformation in agriculture call for critical attention.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Landscape of Cyberbiosecurity for Integrative Educational Programming

Adeoye,

Batarseh,

Brown

et al. 2024

Journal of the ASABE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highlights Alignment of terminology and community building are crucial in cyberbiosecurity. Agriculture and life sciences in a digital age present unconventional challenges. Data and digital literacy are baseline skills for integrative cyberbiosecurity education programming. Cyberbiosecurity education framework offers a foundation for intentional, integrative programming efforts. Abstract. As an emerging and interdisciplinary field at the nexus of digital technologies and agriculture and life sciences (ALS), the integration of cyberbiosecurity education for professional training and skills development remains challenging. Educational practices and related workforce development efforts associated with cyberbiosecurity may be best generalized as pseudo-shadow education, occurring outside standardized practice and lacking known ‘best practice’ to mimic. The current state of cyberbiosecurity education reflects a lack of sequenced and developed knowledge, values, judgments, and ways of thinking, which serve as windows into the underlying cultures of a disciplinary field. Coupled with this gap, the continuous deployment and convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) within ALS creates new vulnerabilities that are unfamiliar to the workforce. These vulnerabilities expose critical ALS infrastructures to cyber-attacks and terrorism and hold significant consequences for the bioeconomy. Securing the bioeconomy and preventing negative multiplier effects in other related sectors depend on adequate cyberbiosecurity education programming and workforce development. This exploratory report of current realities and future prospects provides insights into integrative cyberbiosecurity education programming for workforce development. The study explicates underlying concerns to be addressed in developing integrative cyberbiosecurity education for professionals in agriculture and life sciences and suggests an expandable framework to facilitate workforce development programming. Concerns to address regarding the creation of educational programming in cyberbiosecurity include alignment in definition, cross-boundary community building, the peculiar dynamics of the cyberbiosecurity threat landscape, and baseline requirements for cyberbiosecurity education and practice. Keywords: Agriculture and life sciences, Bioeconomy, Cyberbiosecurity, Education and workforce development, Threat landscape.

show abstract

“…Cyberbiosecurity, also referred to as biocybersecurity, is an emerging field that combines expertise and scholarship from multiple disciplines to study the security vulnerabilities and complex ecosystem at the intersection of life sciences, information systems, biosecurity, and cybersecurity. 26 Such vulnerabilities, as argued by the proponents of this field, cannot be addressed by any single sector alone. 27 Hence, if biosecurity pertains to measures that prevent the introduction and spread of pathogens and harmful organisms that can cause infectious diseases, cyberbiosecurity, on the other hand, reconceptualises such threats and narrows them down to those resulting from the integration of animate (biological) and inanimate (cyber) substrates, which are both inherently informational systems.…”

Section: Digitising Biology and The Rise Of Cyberbiosecuritymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyberbiosecurity in the new normal: Cyberbio risks, pre-emptive security, and the global governance of bioinformation

Fouad

2024

Eur. j. of int. secur.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Covid-19 pandemic saw a surge in cyber attacks targeting pharmaceutical companies and research organisations working on vaccines and treatments for the virus. Such attacks raised concerns around the (in)security of bioinformation (e.g. genomic data, epidemiological data, biomedical data, and health data) and the potential cyberbio risks resulting from stealing, compromising, or exploiting it in hostile cyber operations. This article critically investigates threat discourses around bioinformation as presented in the newly emerging field of ‘cyberbiosecurity’. As introduced by scholarly literature in life sciences, cyberbiosecurity aims to understand and address cyber risks engendered by the digitisation of biology. Such risks include, for example, embedding malware in DNA, corrupting gene-sequencing, manipulating biomedical materials, stealing epidemiological data, or even developing biological weapons and spreading diseases. This article brings the discussion on cyberbiosecurity into the realms of International Relations and Security Studies by problematising the futuristic threat discourses co-producing this burgeoning field and the pre-emptive security measures it advocates, specifically in relation to bioinformation. It analyses how cyberbiosecurity as a concept and field of policy analysis influences the existing securitised governance of bioinformation, the global competition to control it, and the inequalities associated with its ownership and dissemination. As such, the article presents a critical intervention in current debates around the intersection between biological dangers and cyber threats and in the calls for ‘peculiar’ policy measures to defend against cyberbio risks in the ‘new normal’.

show abstract

Cyber and Information Security in the Bioeconomy

Cited by 6 publications

References 26 publications

Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Preparation

Cyberbiosecurity Workforce Preparation

Understanding the Landscape of Cyberbiosecurity for Integrative Educational Programming

Cyberbiosecurity in the new normal: Cyberbio risks, pre-emptive security, and the global governance of bioinformation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About