BIO-ISAC Partners with NY Metro InfraGard

The Bioeconomy Information Sharing and Analysis Center (BIO-ISAC) and New York Metro InfraGard Members Alliance (NYM-IMA) are coming together to tackle cyber threats facing the bioeconomy. 

The partnership, which aims to protect economic activity in the United States involving the use of biotechnology and biomass in the production of goods, services or energy, was announced on Thursday. 

InfraGard is a partnership between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and private sector members formed to protect US critical infrastructure. The organization provides education, information sharing, networking and workshops on emerging technologies and threats through a membership that includes business executives, entrepreneurs, security personnel, military and government officials, IT professionals, academia and state and local law enforcement.

BIO-ISAC is an international organization that enables coordination among stakeholders to facilitate a robust and secure industry. Working with its members, BIO-SAC establishes and shares best practices and standards to improve digital biosecurity and provides its members with tailored and actionable threat intelligence information.

Nina Alli, board member of BIO-ISAC said, “BIO-ISAC partnering with NYM-IMA advances our efforts to strengthen our resilience from attacks on the public and private bioeconomy infrastructure. 

“We look forward to developing our collaboration to further enhance, maintain and implement best practices and standards to improve global digital biosecurity.”

Spanning multiple US critical infrastructure sectors, the United States’ bioeconomy was valued at more than $950 bn, or 5% of the USA’s gross domestic product, in a 2020 report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Jennifer Gold, president of NY Metro InfraGard said that collaborating with BIO-ISAC would help her organization to meet the cybersecurity challenges of the complex ecosystem that has emerged from the digitization of life sciences.

“We are privileged to collaborate with the BIO-ISAC, a team of exceptionally talented technologists,” said Gold, “We support their efforts and share their commitment to safeguarding the cybersecurity of the bioeconomy.”

She added that constant assessment of the current threat landscape and US response capabilities was critical to adequately protect the country’s bioeconomy.

“This collaboration broadens our aperture, and we believe it will have a significant impact,” said Gold.