Recent research into DNA synthesis of viruses has shown the ease with which deadly viruses can be developed in a lab cheaply and easily. In 2017, a Canadian team was able to synthesize the Horsepox virus, an extinct relative of the smallpox virus, in six months at a cost of roughly $100,000. While the research is a key step in assessing how to develop better vaccines, it also shows how advancements in the capacity to do good can also advance the capacity to do harm.
Research into deploying viruses for malicious purposes is not new. The Soviet Union invested heavily in its bioweapons programs during the Cold War. However, experiments like this show the degree to which technological advances have made it easier to develop potent threats to human survival. With synthesis of deadly illnesses becoming easier and easier, the chances of terrorist groups or other rogue actors acquiring such capabilities is becoming an all-too-real possibility.
