Schillaci: cyber attacks and biological risks – “public health security must be a national priority”

“A cyber-attack on a healthcare facility can jeopardise the continuity of care. A database breach can expose sensitive information and undermine scientific work. Protecting data, networks and infrastructure therefore means, first and foremost, protecting people’s health.” This was stated by the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci whilst speaking at the conference ‘Biotechnology for National Security’, organised in Siena by the Biotecnopolo Foundation. According to Schillaci, “health security is an integral part of national security; a biological threat can endanger the lives of communities, put hospitals under pressure and have a severe impact on the economy”.

Advances in biological knowledge offer extraordinary opportunities for health, but require attention to the risks of their misuse and adequate prevention and protection measures. “Biotechnology research helps to develop these tools,” Schillaci went on to explain. “Understanding new pathogens, recognising a risk at an early stage and developing countermeasures means strengthening the protection of the population, especially the most vulnerable.” To tackle these challenges, we need expertise, infrastructure, surveillance systems and well-established scientific networks, as well as long-term investment and ever-closer collaboration between institutions, the scientific community and industry.

Among the most significant current challenges, the Minister for Health cites antimicrobial resistance, because the loss of effectiveness of antibiotics can make treatment difficult and compromise the safety of many medical procedures: “Antimicrobial resistance requires a commitment that transcends national borders and involves human health, animal health and the environment. I would like to express my particular appreciation for the work that the Biotecnopolo is carrying out here in Siena to address this challenge. The commitment of researchers and the development of new approaches give tangible form to a priority that Italia has helped to strengthen at an international level. It is an important contribution to the safety of healthcare and the protection of citizens’ health”.

“National security today encompasses a much broader scope than in the past. It is not just about traditional defence, but about the ability to protect people, infrastructure, networks, essential services and scientific heritage. Biological, digital and hybrid threats are increasingly interconnected and can have far-reaching consequences for the economy and society,” added Francesco Macrì, chairman of Leonardo spa. “A hospital or a research laboratory is also a form of digital infrastructure,” he emphasised. “Protecting health therefore means ensuring the security of data and networks, as well as the continuity of services. Supercomputing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity are playing an increasingly strategic role in our ability to prevent and tackle new threats.” “Leonardo can contribute by providing expertise and advanced technologies,” he concluded. “The dialogue we have initiated with the Biotecnopolo Foundation is a step in this direction: creating links between scientific and industrial capabilities to strengthen the country’s resilience and technological autonomy.”

Gianluca Polifrone, Director-General of the Biotecnopolo Foundation in Siena, clearly explained the purpose of this new ‘super-hub’, stating that “it is not a new research body; we do not need one in Italia because we already have a network of IRCCS centres. However, we have a problem of fragmentation and governance which prevents this network from being transformed into industrial value. The Foundation aims to act as a hub within the research world and a convener of the scientific excellence that our country is capable of demonstrating on the global stage, but which we are unable to transform into industrial value. We want to be a bridge between public research and industry. To company CEOs, I want to say that we are not yet another political circus, but we are here to have the opportunity to highlight to policymakers the bottlenecks that are holding back Italian research’. This was stated by Gianluca Polifrone, Director-General of the Biotecnopolo Foundation in Siena