Makerere University led by the College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity (COVAB) has partnered with the Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) in the implementation of the first pilot project in Uganda on Cybersecurity under the project title; “Establishment of Cyber Biosecurity Inventory and Procedures for Effective Safety and Administrative Controls for COVAB and UVRI laboratories in Uganda Project.”
This was officiated through the cyberbiosecurity workshop held at UVRI Entebbe headquarters with the aim to create awareness in cyber security threats and cyberbiosecurity.
As a result of the collaboration between the two institutions, several Cyber Biosecurity SOPs have been set up, including; Personnel Suitability and Reliability SOP, information security and data protection, Network Access, Password management, and Cyber Biosecurity incident response, among others, to safeguard the laboratories from cyber attacks.
During the workshop, Prof. Lawrence Mugisha, the Principal Investigator at Makerere University, highlighted that the workshop’s main purpose was to raise awareness of the emerging issues at the intersection of biosafety, biosecurity, and Cybersecurity for facilities/laboratories handling biological agents, especially high-consequence pathogens.
“This workshop provides an opportunity to share our lessons and facility-based best practices desired for cybersecurity, focusing on pertinent aspects of safeguarding digital and biological infrastructures,” he said.
In addition, Mugisha noted that CyberBiosecurity is an emerging field at the intersection of Cybersecurity and Biosecurity that addresses the protection of valuable biological information and protection, whereby being a new field there is limited knowledge among personnel and researchers working in biological laboratories.
“Therefore, this workshop aimed at imparting knowledge for the identification of risks and vulnerabilities associated with cyber-physical infrastructure and mitigation of the cyber security risks for biological laboratories, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and research laboratories,” Mugisha, the Principal Investigator, highlighted.
Professor Pontiano Kaleebu, the UVRI director, expressed the great role of biosecurity in institutions like UVRI, which handles risky viruses as well as developing new products, saying, “This research is very important because we have to keep our samples secure.”
“We need to have well-regulated and good science to avoid mistakes or misuse when dealing with genetically modified organisms, including mosquitoes and vectors we use for vaccine research,” Professor Kaleebu added.
Cyber threats and attacks are a serious threat to many establishments (government institutions, business enterprises, and other critical facilities like financial and health facilities) across the globe, disrupting services and causing serious financial losses in addition to individual and institutional safety.
More recently, these attacks have extended and targeted laboratories handling biological materials, including high-risk and highly pathogenic organisms like anthrax, ebola, and Sars-cov2 viruses with potential for bioterrorism. Hence, the urgent need to secure and protect laboratory facilities handling high consequence/risk pathogens from cyber attacks and the need for cybersecurity.
About The Author
