![]() We again stress that there is no cause for people to be alarmed today, but we also encourage the DNA sequencing community to proactively address computer security risks before any adversaries manifest. One theme from computer security research is that it is better to consider security threats early in emerging technologies, before the technology matures, since security issues are much easier to fix before real attacks manifest. Instead, we view these results as a first step toward thinking about computer security in the DNA sequencing ecosystem. ![]() We have no evidence to believe that the security of DNA sequencing or DNA data in general is currently under attack. Note that there is not present cause for alarm about present-day threats. That is, we were able to remotely exploit and gain full control over a computer using adversarial synthetic DNA. When this physical strand was sequenced and processed by the vulnerable program it gave remote control of the computer doing the processing. We then designed and created a synthetic DNA strand that contained malicious computer code encoded in the bases of the DNA strand. To assess whether this is theoretically possible, we included a known security vulnerability in a DNA processing program that is similar to what we found in our earlier security analysis. This lead us to question whether it is possible to produce DNA strands containing malicious computer code that, if sequenced and analyzed, could compromise a computer. It is well known in computer security that any data used as input into a program may contain code designed to compromise a computer. After sequencing, this DNA data is processed and analyzed using many computer programs. This paper will appear at the peer-reviewed USENIX Security Symposium in August 2017.ĭNA stores standard nucleotides-the basic structural units of DNA-as letters such as A, C, G, and T. See our paper for more detailed information on our findings. Here we highlight two key examples of our research below: (1) the failure of DNA sequencers to follow best practices in computer security and (2) the possibility to encode malware in DNA sequences. As a multi-disciplinary group of researchers who study both computer security and DNA manipulation, we wanted to understand what new computer security risks are possible in the interaction between biomolecular information and the computer systems that analyze it. New and unexpected interactions may be possible at this boundary between electronic and biological systems. Even the sequencing machines themselves run on computers. Modern sequencing techniques can sequence hundreds of millions of DNA strands simultaneously, resulting in a proliferation of new applications in domains ranging from personalized medicine, ancestry, and even the study of the microorganisms that live in your gut.Ĭomputers are needed to process, analyze, and store the billions of DNA bases that can be sequenced from a single DNA sample. This rapid improvement was made possible by faster, massively parallel processing. In the past decade, the cost to sequence a human genome has decreased 100,000 fold or more. ![]() Therefore, the environments in which shipboard motors operate and the functions they perform require unique design and construction considerations above those of standard industrial motors.There has been rapid improvement in the cost and time necessary to sequence and analyze DNA. Marine motors are usually mounted to steel structures, which are subject to vibration and shock or pitch and roll movement, and typical marine application settings are very humid and salt-laden harsh environments. Marine motors are also used for other-than-shipboard service in functions on offshore drilling rigs, shipyard applications and port equipment. These motors meet the regulatory requirements governed by three major specifications: the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Rules for Building and Classing Marine Vessels1, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Electrical Engineering Regulations2 and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Standard 45, Recommended Practice for Electric Installations on Shipboard3. Commercial marine motors in general are high-grade motors treated for corrosion resistance and designed for use on shipboard applications.
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