Cyberbiosecurity Threats Headlined US Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense Meeting
At a Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense virtual meeting titled ‘Biologia et Machina: Cyberbiosecurity for Today’s Hybrid Evolution,’ Charles Fracchia, VP of Data at Dotmatics BioBright, emphasized the urgent need for the US government to develop digital biosecurity expertise, promote workforce development, and foster public-private partnerships to defend the global bioeconomy, highlighting that current actions will critically determine the future success of the US bioeconomy on the world stage.
Dotmatics BioBright Discusses Role of Digital Biosecurity in Defending the Global Bioeconomy
Charles Fracchia, VP of Data at Dotmatics, participated in ‘Biologia et Machina: Cyberbiosecurity for Today’s Hybrid Evolution’, a virtual meeting premiered by the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense. This meeting built on the Commission’s earlier work to explore opportunities and solutions to address today’s cyberbiosecurity threats and the role of the federal government in securing the future.
Jason G. Matheny, PhD, Deputy Assistant to the President for Technology and National Security; Deputy Director for National Security, Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Coordinator for Technology and National Security, National Security Council, mentioned BioBright in his Executive Perspective during Panel One.
Along with Suzanne Schwartz, MD, MBA, Director, Office of Strategic Partnerships and Technology Innovation, Food and Drug Administration, and Bryan S. Ware, Former Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and former Assistant Secretary for Cyber, Infrastructure, and Resilience Policy, Charles Fracchia contributed to the fourth panel of the day, ‘Role of Government in Securing the Future’.
Charles encouraged the Commission to:
- Help relevant US Government agencies develop a core competency in digital biosecurity
- Promote workforce development in this sector
- Create and leverage public-private partnerships to seed the development of defensive solutions
Charles concluded:
We are at a critical junction for the bioeconomy. The way we respond now will be a key determining factor in the success or failure of the US bioeconomy on the global stage. We need to invest in its defense: we have the means, the talent and the enterprising spirit to do it, we just have to work together to make it happen.
Former Senator and Commission Co-Chair, Joe Lieberman, thanked Charles:
Thank you for being so direct and straight talking about the threat here. However, you didn’t stop there, you were good enough to offer some solutions.
Former Governor and Commission Co-Chair, Tom Ridge, was emphatic:
We ignore cybersecurity threats at our own peril.
About the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense
The Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense was established in 2014 to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the state of U.S. biodefense efforts, and to issue recommendations to foster change. The Panel’s 2015 report, A National Blueprint for Biodefense: Leadership and Major Reform Needed to Optimize Efforts, identified capability gaps and recommended changes to U.S. policy and law to strengthen national biodefense while optimizing resource investments. Subsequent Commission publications have addressed critical needs for agrodefense, biodefense budgeting, and State, Local, Tribal and Territorial capabilities. In September 2018, the White House released the National Biodefense Strategy, a top recommendation from the Blueprint. The Commission continues to address biodefense challenges and to urge reform. Former Senator Joe Lieberman and former Governor Tom Ridge co-chair the Commission, and are joined by former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, former Representative Jim Greenwood, and former Homeland Security Advisor Ken Wainstein. Hudson Institute is the Commission’s fiscal sponsor.
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