{
  "abstract": "Biosecurity screening of synthetic DNA orders is a key defense against malicious actors and careless enthusiasts producing dangerous pathogens or toxins. It is important to evaluate biosecurity screening tools for potential vulnerabilities and to work responsibly with providers to ensure that vulnerabilities can be patched before being publicly disclosed. We consider a class of potential vulnerabilities in which a DNA sequence is obfuscated by splitting it into two or more fragments within a single synthetic DNA order, where the fragments can be readily reassembled via routine biological mechanisms. To evaluate this potential vulnerability, we develop a test set of obfuscated sequences based on controlled toxins, and share these materials with the biosecurity screening community. We then collect and analyze results from open-source and commercial biosecurity screening tools, alongside a novel Gene Edit Distance algorithm specifically designed to be robust against splitting-based obfuscations.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "The Stein Faculty of Computer and Information Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel",
    "Cyber@BGU, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel",
    "RTX BBN Technologies, Cambridge, MA USA",
    "Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel",
    "Jusidman Science Center for Youth, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel",
    "Aclid, New York, NY USA",
    "Department of Computer Science, Rice University, Houston, TX USA",
    "Signature Science, Charlottesville, VA USA",
    "Department of Bioengineering, Rice University, Houston, TX USA",
    "Ken Kennedy Institute, Rice University, Houston, TX USA"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 17,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Shaked Tayouri-Attia",
      "orcid": "0009-0004-3290-1732"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Vladislav Kogan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jacob Beal",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1663-5102"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Tal Levy"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "Dor Farbiash",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-7921-1235"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        5
      ],
      "name": "Kevin Flyangolts",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-5232-9615"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Steven T. Murphy"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Tom Mitchell",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7636-5597"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Ryan Doughty"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Felix Quintana"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Joshua Stallings",
      "orcid": "0009-0005-1175-198X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6
      ],
      "name": "Michael Nute",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4129-6525"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7
      ],
      "name": "Gene D. Godbold",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5702-4690"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        8,
        9
      ],
      "name": "Todd J. Treangen",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-3760-564X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Barak Rotblat",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2985-7115"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Isana Veksler-Lublinsky",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4251-6158"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Rami Puzis",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-7229-3899"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8wj5sbpnr3wpw.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-77459-3",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13714298/",
  "id": "8wj5sbpnr3wpw",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77459-3",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Article"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3312|Global Security and Public Health"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7214651306",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-77459-3_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13714298",
  "pmid": "42946718",
  "published": "2026-09-28",
  "publisher": "Nature Publishing Group",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8wj5sbpnr3wpw.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-01T12:21:49Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13714298",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77459-3"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [],
  "title": "Defending synthetic DNA orders against intra-order splitting-based obfuscation",
  "title_text": "Defending synthetic DNA orders against intra-order splitting-based obfuscation",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-01T12:21:49Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8wj5sbpnr3wpw",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}