Introduction
The relationship between health and security has long attracted scholarly attention; however, the connection between health and national security was conceptualized more systematically in the post–Cold War era. Biological warfare and biothreats have consistently been regarded as major security concerns. Despite significant advances in biotechnology, particularly in genetics and genome-editing technologies, which have paved the way for a new generation of biological weapons, several factors—including the complexity of human biological responses, globalization, and the limited availability of population-scale genomic data—have constrained their widespread deployment. Recent developments in genomics, together with advances in artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and the emergence of Precision Public Health (PPH), have the potential to transform the collection and analysis of biological data. These developments may fundamentally reshape the role of genomic information in security affairs and give rise to a new national security paradigm in which genomic data constitute a central strategic asset.
This article examines the evolution of biotechnology and explores the role of the Precision Public Health genomic platform in transforming the concept of national security. It argues that these developments may establish the human body as an independent domain of warfare while simultaneously redefining social and human concepts. Focusing on Iran, the study further highlights the need for a new framework for genomic data security.
Methods
This study employs a qualitative research design based on a descriptive-analytical approach. Data were collected through documentary research, drawing on books, scholarly publications, policy reports, and official documents. The collected materials were analyzed qualitatively to identify key trends, patterns, and conceptual relationships relevant to the study.
Findings and Discussion
Although biological threats have been a persistent feature of human history and technologies such as CRISPR (short for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats”) genome editing have introduced unprecedented possibilities for biological manipulation, the lack of comprehensive population-level genomic information has limited the practical use of biological warfare, leaving it a relatively underexplored and poorly understood mode of conflict. Evidence suggests that these constraints are gradually diminishing, potentially paving the way for biological warfare to become a more conventional form of conflict. This prospect has been increasingly reflected in scientific literature, strategic reports, and statements by political leaders of major powers. The emergence of the Precision Public Health genomic platform is likely to accelerate this trend.
The Precision Public Health platform was developed to prevent disease through the integration of genomics, environmental and behavioral data, and advanced analytical technologies. Broadly speaking, the platform performs two primary functions: first, the collection of genomic information through expanding digital connectivity and the generation of large-scale data from all dimensions of human life; and second, the design of continuous, adaptive, and individualized interventions based on real-time data, for the purpose of shaping and engineering future trajectories. The realization of these objectives requires the comprehensive medicalization of both individuals and society. Consequently, the platform extends beyond healthcare and seeks to manage and optimize multiple aspects of human life through genomic data.
This transformation alters traditional patterns of data collection by shifting control away from governments and private institutions toward platform-based ecosystems capable of generating continuous real-time data. Within this emerging paradigm, competition among major powers for access to and influence over genomic data becomes increasingly significant. In Iran, genomic data collection remains largely dependent on traditional academic and private-sector institutions, with a primary emphasis on personalized medicine. Nevertheless, the rapid global expansion of Precision Public Health is likely to influence Iran in the near future.
Conclusion
By generating real-time, individual-level, and population-scale genomic data through the expansion of digital connectivity, the Precision Public Health platform has the potential to remove one of the principal barriers to biological warfare. Early indications of this transformation were evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, when advances in biotechnology enabled the rapid development of vaccines within approximately one year. Current initiatives aimed at reducing vaccine and therapeutic development timelines to as little as one hundred days further illustrate this trajectory. Such achievements depend on access to detailed genomic information concerning both human populations and pathogens, information that can be generated through the Precision Public Health platform. If fully realized, these developments may signal the beginning of a new era in biological warfare.
More broadly, Precision Public Health may establish a data-driven mode of governance that gives rise to a new genomic paradigm in which social, political, and security concepts are interpreted through a genomic lens. In such a paradigm, human beings may increasingly be understood as repositories of genomic data, leading to profound transformations in identity. Likewise, the state acquires new meaning as platform-based authority increasingly influences legitimacy, policymaking, and power. Ultimately, governmental institutions may become components of a broader system of governing intelligence, operating within a data-centric framework of authority.