A biological 0-day? Threat-screening tools may miss AI-designed proteins
21 hours ago
- #AI-security
- #biosurveillance
- #DNA-screening
- Microsoft-led researchers discovered a 'biological zero-day'—a security hole in DNA sequence screening systems.
- The screening system checks DNA orders for sequences encoding toxins or dangerous viruses but may miss AI-designed toxins.
- Biological threats include pathogens, protein-based toxins, and chemical toxins, all originating from DNA transcription.
- DNA synthesis companies screen orders for sequences matching known threats, with updates to algorithms and threat lists.
- Screening evolved from simple DNA sequence matching to recognizing all DNA variants encoding the same harmful protein.