Malware insertion into DNA

[Klumpen]

http://www.pcgamer.com/eat-your-hea...e-figured-out-how-to-inject-malware-into-dna/
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608268/scientists-used-crispr-to-put-a-gif-inside-living-dna/

 

[sm0kew0n]

I think the use of 'malware' is somewhat provocative. If your interested the original publication is attached.

 

[FBnil]

waiting for Microsoft Antivirus for Homo Sapiens v1.0

 

[Linux-SWAT]

Our DNA is already altered by food additives like the E211.

 

[ElPoco]

And by viruses, the human genome contains about 8% of "non-human" DNA.

But, I guess DNA storage could be useful if we have trouble with our flash drive.

 

[levi]

I think the use of 'malware' is somewhat provocative. If your interested the original publication is attached.

Is that the one where they modified the computer code to introduce a buffer overflow bug, then made DNA to exploit that buffer?

 

[rygD]

Didn't read links, but it sounds like they want us to be worried about getting a virus from a virus. Yo dawg...

And what @ElPoco said.

Our DNA is already altered by food additives like the E211.

And many other things we come into contact with. I'm looking at you, sunlight. Ahhh, my eyes!

 

[WizardStan]

Didn't read links, but it sounds like they want us to be worried about getting a virus from a virus. Yo dawg...

They crafted a string of DNA which, when read by a particular DNA sequencing program, triggers a buffer overflow and executes arbitrary, malicious code. It doesn't affect any other DNA, there's no way it can "infect" a living thing, it can only cause issue in this very specific application with this exact issue. Patch the buffer overflow and the problem disappears.

 

[rygD]

That is pretty awesome, and completely pointless. Now I want to read the articles, but I need to finish the episode of SG-1 I started two days ago first.

Edit: Pointless from a practical perspective, that is.

 

[sm0kew0n]

Is that the one where they modified the computer code to introduce a buffer overflow bug, then made DNA to exploit that buffer?

You got me, hands up, I surrender. Laziness strikes again.

Attached is the original publication of the DNA sequencing software exploit research. Interesting to note that in their experimental setup the software was modified to contain a known vulnerability for the attack vector to exploit. However they also paint a gloomy picture of current bioinformatics software security and indeed, show that malware can be stored in DNA sequences.

 

[WizardStan]

Edit: Pointless from a practical perspective, that is.

The paper admits that it's pointless in this case, it's merely to demonstrate that such things are possible and should be considered a possible threat in the future. Reasonably distant future, that is, once you have other technology and DNA testing becomes far more ubiquitous than it is now.

 

[PCXT]

In 2007 I made an YVON spectrometer (machine used to analyze composition of fuel) result file to make the machine indicate "MV_MOTHERINLAW" component in all next tests. It was possible by making two passes of analysis totally different to the way that integration array started to write back into component names. It was quite fun (like playing Doom on a big telephone patch - did it once), but making the data physical indeed is interesting. I wonder is it possible to make such chemicals to sabotage their analysis systems?

 

[FBnil]

Our DNA is already altered by food additives like the E211.

You are not kidding....

Sodium benzoate is a preservative. As a food additive, sodium benzoate has the E number E211. Sodium benzoate is also used in fireworks...
Cats have a significantly lower tolerance against benzoic acid. So our human food kills cats...
It kills bacterias (also in your gut, so your good gut bacteria is killed)
It seems it also chemically reacts to form benzenes (not good).

A paper published in the March 2015 Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture found that sodium benzoate has been replaced by potassium sorbate

Some molds (notably some Trichoderma and Penicillium strains) and yeasts are able to detoxify sorbates by decarboxylation, producing piperylene (1,3-pentadiene). The pentadiene manifests as a typical odor of kerosene or petroleum.
Potassium sorbate is a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. Although some research implies that potassium sorbate has a long-term safety record,[16] in vitro studies have shown that it is both genotoxic and mutagenic to human blood cells. Potassium sorbate is found to be toxic to human DNA in peripheral blood lymphocytes, hence it negatively affects immunity.

nice... very VERY bad chemicals.

I like retroviruses though. It infects carnivore cells and transforms them into plants (by giving the cells the ability to photosyntesize).

 

[rygD]

I still like the sun as our best friend and worst enemy.

 

[ible]

i thought our worst enemy was ourselves?

 

[Djoga'Ro]

So I write some DNA-sequenzerware to blow up some nukes, when it recognizes your DNA, and then may send the AV Squad to contain the virus, i.e. your DNA, i.e. you?