标题：“中毒”DNA可操纵计算机软件控制测序分析结果

华盛顿大学的研究团队发现，恶意软件能够通过编码写入DNA，并用于攻击计算机设备。

在此之前，科学家曾成功地将一部音乐视频阿基米德的“机械定理方法”和一匹马的gif图片写入DNA，但在此项研究中，华盛顿大学的团队负责人正美河野（Tadayoshi Kohno）则将恶意软件程序编码入DNA。据报道，如果对“染毒”DNA进行测序，其编码的恶意软件程序将被触发，进而控制样品的计算机分析过程。

“就目前而言，这种为威胁相当小，人们还不至于为此而失眠。”正美河野表示，“但是我们想了解各种可能性以及隐藏于视线之外的问题。”

值得注意的是，在这项实验，正美河野和他的同事都是恶意软件DNA的“帮凶”——他们将一个安全漏洞引入了样品分析软件供其恶意软件利用。但尽管如此，他们和其他研究者注意到了DNA分析软件安全性普遍较弱的问题。随着测序的逐渐普及，更多敏感数据被测定和收集。不久的将来，个人、企业团体知识产权或法医基因数据可能面临着更大的被窃取和操纵篡改的风险。

Tadayoshi Kohno研究团队网站：https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~yoshi/

原文：

DNA Takeover

Researchers from the University of Washington have showed that it is possible to encode malware in DNA and use it to attack a computer, the Atlantic reports.

Previously, researchers have encoded Archimedes' "The Methods of Mechanical Theorems," a music video, and a gif of a horse in DNA, but the team led by UW's Tadayoshi Kohno instead encoded a malware program. According to the Atlantic, once that stretch of DNA was sequenced, the malware program launched and took over the computer analyzing the sample.

"The present-day threat is very small, and people don't need to lose sleep immediately," Kohno tells the Atlantic. "But we wanted to know what was possible and what the issues are down the line."

The Atlantic adds that Kohno and his colleagues "cheated" a little as they introduced a vulnerability into the analysis software for their malware to take advantage of. Still, they and others note that the security of DNA analysis software is generally lax. As sequencing becomes even more widespread and as more sensitive data is collected, the Atlantic notes that there might be greater incentive for personal, corporate IP, or forensic genetic data to be stolen or manipulated.

原文链接：https://www.genomeweb.com/scan/dna-takeover?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Scan%20Fri%202017-08-11&utm_term=The%20Scan%20Bulletin