Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

NCCoE Virtual Workshop on the Cybersecurity of Genomic Data

Genomic data are central to basic science research, pharmaceutical drug and vaccine development, disease diagnosis and prediction, ancestry tracing, and forensic investigations. These applications require information fidelity and appropriate availability as bad actors may wish to misuse genomic data to invade privacy, gain an unfair competitive advantage, or inflict harm with devastating impacts on individuals, companies, and nations.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) is seeking to identify genomic data cybersecurity and privacy concerns and develop guidance to address these challenges. To that end, the NCCoE is engaging with genomic, cybersecurity, and privacy subject matter experts in academia, industry, and government to gather their insights.

The NCCoE will host a virtual workshop on January 26, 2022, from 11:00 AM – 4:30 PM (EST) to explore cybersecurity and privacy risks for genomic data. The event will feature presentations by thought leaders and opportunities for audience participation. Please see the tentative agenda.

REGISTRATION CONTACT: genomics_cybersecurity_nccoe [at] nist.gov (genomics_cybersecurity_nccoe[at]nist[dot]gov)

Agenda

Segment 1: Workshop Overview and Background 11:00 AM – 11:40 AM
  • Opening Welcome
    • Natalia Martin (NIST) 
  • Logistics
    • Ron Pulivarti (NIST) 
  • NIST Experiences in Genomics, Cybersecurity, and Privacy
    • Naomi Lefkovitz (NIST) 
    • Samantha Maragh (NIST) 
    • Ron Pulivarti (NIST) 
  • Moderated Q&A
    • Scott Ross (HudsonAlpha)
Segment 2: Keynotes 11:40 AM – 12:20 PM
  • Importance of Today’s Workshop: Protection Perspective
    • Michael J. Orlando (National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC)) 
  • Importance of Today’s Workshop: Enabling Perspective
    • Yaniv Erlich (Eleven Therapeutics) 
  • Moderated Q&A
    • Tommy Morris
Segment 3: Challenges from the Field 12:20 PM – 12:50 PM
  • Research Perspective
    • Jean-Pierre Hubaux (EPFL/ Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH)) 
  • Individual’s Perspective
    • John Verdi (Future of Privacy Forum) 
  • Moderated Q&A
    • Martin Wojtyniak (MITRE)
Intermission 12:50 PM – 1:30 PM  
Segment 4: Challenges Sessions 1:30 PM – 2:25 PM
  • Session 1: Cybersecurity Challenges Affecting Genomic Sequencing
    • Charles Fracchia (BioBright) 
    • Phillip Whitlow (HudsonAlpha)
  • Session 2: Cybersecurity Challenges for Genomic Software
    • E. Loren Buhle (DNAnexus) 
  • Session 3: Cybersecurity Challenges for Genomic Data Storage
    • Xiaofeng Wang (Indiana University) 
  • Moderated Q&A
    • Jianqing Liu (University of Alabama in Huntsville)
Break 2:25 PM – 2:35 PM  
Segment 4 (Continued): Challenges Sessions 2:35 PM –3:45 PM
  • Session 4: Privacy Challenges for Genomic Data
    • Sumitra Muralidhar (Veterans Affairs Million Veterans Program) 
    • Natalie Ram (University of Maryland) 
    • Jacquie Haggarty (23andMe) 
  • Moderated Q&A
    • Julie Snyder (MITRE) 
  • Session 5: Current and Future Genomic Data Use Challenges
    • Gail Jarvik (American Society of Human Genetics [ASHG]) 
    • Heidi Sofia (NIH National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)) 
    • Ankit Malhotra (Amazon Web Services (AWS)) 
  • Moderated Q&A
    • Nick Cochran (HudsonAlpha)
Break 3:45 PM – 3:50 PM  
Segment 5: Open Lightning Round 3:50 PM – 4:20 PM
  • Audience Insights
    • Li-San Wang (University of Pennsylvania) 
    • and Insights from the Audience
Segment 6: Next Steps 4:20 PM – 4:30 PM
  • Close Out
    • Ron Pulivarti (NIST)
Created January 21, 2022