Maturing Cyber Security Using BioThreat Experiences and Resources

How does the current planning and response to cyber threats compare to biological threats planning and response? How do the resources of each compare? Biothreats have been a concern for millennia, and humans systems have had significant time and funding to develop a mature response. In this paper we observe that by comparison, cyber response is still in a relatively immature stage, possibly comparable to the state of public health protection prior to the implementation of safe water, sanitary conditions and vaccinations. Furthermore, we argue that because of the similarity between bioand cyber systems, there are significant opportunities to advance the maturity of cyber research and response, either by using bio analogies for inspiration or by the direct transfer of resources. An analysis of existing cyber resources and gaps are compared to available bio resources. Specific examples are provided for the application of bio-resources to cyber