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April 26th, 2024 | 4:56 PM ET

Countering Bioterror

Posted: January 17th, 2016

By Daniel Gerstein

Daniel M. Gerstein works at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corporation. He was the Under Secretary (Acting) and Deputy Under Secretary in the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security from 2011-2014. He is also the author of a book on the BWC, National Security and Arms Control in the Age of Biotechnology: The Biological Weapons Convention.

Advances in biotechnology have brought a wide range of benefits in health and medical research, food and agriculture, even manufacturing. At the same time, biotechnology is also advancing on a darker side, as biological weapons are now within the reach of many rogue nations and possibly some terrorist groups.

The deliberate use of biological pathogens to attack a major population center could kill or infect hundreds of thousands of people, yet report after report shows the United States to be ill prepared to address a threat that is only increasing as technology marches forward.

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Categorized as:Defense Systems Tech/CyberTagged with:

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