Malware and Disease: Lessons from Cyber Intelligence for Public Health Surveillance

Abstract

Malicious software and infectious diseases are similar is several respects, as are the functional requirements for surveillance and intelligence to defend against these threats. Given these similarities, this article compares and contrasts the actors, relationships, and norms at work in cyber intelligence and disease surveillance. Historical analysis reveals that civilian cyber defense is more decentralized, private, and voluntary than public health in the United States. Most of these differences are due to political choices rather than technical necessities. In particular, political resistance to government institutions has shaped cyber intelligence over the past 30 years, which is a troubling sign for attempts to improve disease surveillance through local, state, and federal health departments. Information sharing about malware is also limited, despite information technology being integral to cyberspace. Such limits suggest that automation through electronic health records will not automatically improve public health surveillance. Still, certain aspects of information sharing and analysis for cyber defense are worth emulating or, at the very least, learning from to help detect and manage health threats.