Today, our knowledge of DNA is so advanced that you can order synthetic DNA of any sequence from bio-tech companies. This is incredibly useful for science and medical companies, but it can also be dangerous if misused.

Prof. Ivan Damgård and Assistant Prof. Carsten Baum from the Cryptography & Security group are part of the SecureDNA project, which aims at preventing the dangers of modern DNA synthesis. Once built, SecureDNA will screen DNA synthesis orders against a database of hazards. Using tools from modern cryptography, this will happen in such a way that both the order and the database remain hidden from potential attackers throughout the whole process.

Learn more about the project at: https://www.securedna.org/main-en