Is Biohacking Posed to Become a Security Threat?

[BillTre]

Biohackers are mostly "amateur" molecular biologists who (often) want to make new things through genetic engineering.
They have been developing their methods and on-line communities.
Here is a fairly long NY Times article that gives some background and discusses different sides of regulatory issues.

Currently, there is little control over what anyone who is not government funded does with these techniques.
With the establishment of cheap and easy procedures that could be done at home, the production of dangerous biological entities becomes more likely.

Maybe an organization of molecular biologists should make their own version of The Doomsday Clock. Actually, it turns out it should be already rolled into the current clock.

 

[Ygggdrasil]

As repeatedly demonstrated in the US, if one want to cause mass deaths, it is simple enough to procure sufficient guns and ammunition without needing to spend significant investments of time, money and effort into biohacking.

It is also worth noting that the same technologies that, say, could enable rogue actors to make smallpox would also enable doctors and scientists to more quickly produce vaccines to respond to such threats. Any technology will always be a double-edged sword.

 

[Rive]

the production of dangerous biological entities becomes more likely.

Buzz
With background at the 'cheap and easy' level the most likely (and: most likely single) victim is the 'hacker', if involved in anything really dangerous.

Security is never cheap, nor easy.