The Question: The article “Malicious code written into DNA infects the computer that reads it” describes a “world first” where researchers successfully infected a computer using a malicious program encoded into a physical strand of DNA. While the researchers acknowledge that this specific attack vector is currently difficult to execute, they emphasize that it serves as a symbolic milestone for the overlap between the digital and biological worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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My Response to the Question:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The article about malicious code being written into the DNA explains how technology and biology are starting to overlap and see similarities. In the study the researchers found that some DNA analysis software has vulnerabilities that are similar to normal computer programs. Whenever DNA is sequenced the machine that does it converts the biological info into digital info that a software will then read. The researchers showed flaws in the software by if someone created a specific designed piece of DNA it would be able to take advantage of weaknesses that are in the software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Isolation methods like VMs helped prevent these kind of problems they were tools that helped separate the DNA analysis software from the main computer system, that way if something malicious was to get through and run it would be contained within the VM and not on the main system and affect the whole computer or even the network it is on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with everything else there are also ethical and security concerns when treating biological data as an untrusted input. Everyone including myself until thought DNA was safe and couldn’t be harmed but I was wrong because with this research it shows that any type of data including DNA if not properly checked it can be harmed and harmful, especially now that DNA is starting to become more digital so I believe organizations really need to implement a very good cybersecurity practices in order to keep sensitive information safe and protected <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Question: The article “Malicious code written into DNA infects the computer that reads it” describes a “world first” where researchers successfully infected a computer using a malicious program encoded into a physical strand of DNA. While the researchers acknowledge that this specific attack vector is currently difficult to execute, they emphasize that it serves… <\/p>\n