A Few Biologically Inspired Security Mechanisms

Biology has been a rich source of terminology for computer security, especially in the area of malware analysis and defense. However, many computer security professionals lack in-depth knowledge on these underlying biological mechanisms and thus have difficulties in making a smooth transition between biological phenomena and their application in computer security. As a result the security mechanisms developed by nature have yet to be fully utilized in the arena of digital attacks and defenses. In this paper we introduce a few biological security mechanisms, such as the cryptographic and steganographic processing of biological information expressed in DNA, RNA, and protein sequences, the defensive actions against invading pathogens conducted by biological immune system, and the improved survivability of a species through bio-diversity, to the practitioners working in the field of information security. The intentions are two folds: (1) To build computer systems with built-in/inherent security mechanisms, unlike the common practice today – security is an adds-on feature; (2) To seek new security paradigms from the most recent developments in biology. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, it is necessary to encourage researchers from both computer science and biology to participate to achieve the goals.