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Issues Surrounding Nanotechnology: Security, Privacy, Ethical, Legal

Bio-Cyber terrorism is a term coined by Ian Akyildiz, the main founder of this technology. For Akyildiz to talk about terrorism is rather ironic considering what an absolute violation of our body and privacy his nanotech is. The health risks involving toxicity of nanoparticles is another topic of consideration. Bodily sovereignty is paramount. No one should have access to our body (yet they do with the nanomachines making up the Internet of Bio-Nano-Tech). Please refer to this human rights article for more on human rights violations.

Prof. Dr. Ilhan Fuat Akyildiz video clip from Science and Society Meetings (link below)

Excerpt from video:

Interviewer:

“Is it possible to remotely reprogram those bacteria that you put inside the human body?”

Akyildiz:

“Yes.”

Interviewer:

“So if so, the security risk is much more challenging than we thought.”

Akyildiz:

“Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. So, actually that’s true.”

Interviewer:

“In the beginning you mentioned the network is two-way. So, if the network communication is two-way and we then reprogram the bacteria inside the body, we have a huge risk of security.”

Akyildiz:

“Of course, that’s really very very important that somebody will send all the wrong information and it can create this zombie, right. All the devices inside can malfunction, right. So it’s very very important who’s transmitting or who’s reprogramming.”

Interviewer:

“Somebody, in fact, can cut the communication with the internet and, like a man in the middle attack, cut the communication and reprogram it- and this is a huge attack. 

Akyildiz:

“Yes, exactly. Yeah, of course. Yeah. That’s very likely. That’s why it’s extremely important what I kept saying about security in cyber space, so that’s an open issue. Hopefully, you know, people will behave nicely, but that’s not the case, unfortunately. You’re right. So now somebody can come and then really reprogram you and kill you, even.”

Science and Society Meetings - XI, Prof. Dr. Ilhan Fuat Akyildiz, Georgia University

We find the same standards organization, IEC, at the center of things again. 

 

IEC sets Cyber security standards

Types of potential attacks on the software inside your body (i.e. attacks on your body) include unauthorized users, disruption of communication, sending false information to the software, deliberately causing malfunctions, or even gaining complete control over the entire network. Other variations of potential cyber attacks include worm holes, sink holes, black holes, Sybil attacks, loops, desynchronization attacks, flooding attacks, replay attacks, node captures, jamming attacks, eavesdropping, selective forwarding, spoofing, altering and more.

A Systematic Review of Bio-Cyber Interface Technologies and Security Issues for Internet of Bio-Nano Things

Security Issues in Healthcare Applications Using Wireless Medical Sensor Networks: A Survey


Security Vulnerabilities and Countermeasures for Target Localization in Bio-NanoThings Communication Networks

Turning the Body Into a Wire: When the human body is the communications channel, it’s hard to hack the data

Digital Twins: Legal Considerations for an Emerging Technology

Applying Digital Twins in Metaverse: User Interface, Security and Privacy Challenges

 

Ethics and legal issues surrounding nanotechnology in medicine:

 

“A scoping review, designed to cover scientific, ethical, and legal literature associated with nanomedical technology, was conducted, generating and analyzing 27 peer-reviewed articles published between 2007–2020.

Results indicate that articles referencing ethical and legal issues related to nanomedical technology were concerned with six key areas: 1) harm exposure and potential risks to health, 2) consent to nano-research, 3) privacy, 4) access to nanomedical technology and potential nanomedical therapies, 5) classification of nanomedical products in relation to the research and development of nanomedical technology, and 6) the precautionary principle as it relates to the research and development of nanomedical technology.

Conclusion: This review of the literature suggests that few practical solutions are comprehensive enough to allay the ethical and legal concerns surrounding research and development in fields related to nanomedical technology, especially as it continues to evolve and contribute to future innovations in medicine. It is also clearly apparent that a more coordinated approach is required to ensure global standards of practice governing the study and development of nanomedical technology, especially as discussions surrounding the regulation of nanomedical research throughout the literature are mainly confined to systems of governance in the United States."

IEC Sets Standards
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