Advances in synthetic biology and nanotechnology resulted in tools that can be used to control, reuse, modify, and re-engineer cells' structure, as well as enabling engineers to effectively use biological cells as programmable substrates to realize Bio-NanoThings (biological embedded computing devices). Bio-NanoThings are tiny, non-intrusive, and concealable devices that can be used for in-vivo applications such as intra-body sensing and actuation networks, where the use of artificial devices can be detrimental. Bio-NanoThings are nano-scale devices used in various healthcare settings such as continuous health monitoring, targeted drug delivery, and nanosurgeries. These services can also be grouped to form a collaborative network called nanonetwork, whose performance can potentially be improved when connected to higher bandwidth external networks such as the Internet. However, to realize the IoBNT paradigm, it is also important to seamlessly connect the biological environment with the technological landscape, for example by having a dynamic interface designing to convert biochemical signals from the human body into an equivalent electromagnetic signal (and vice versa). However, this also risks the exposure of internal biological mechanisms to cyber-based sensing and medical actuation, with potential security and privacy implications. In this paper, we comprehensively review bio-cyber interface for IoBNT architecture, focusing on bio-cyber interfacing options for IoBNT like biologically inspired bio-electronic devices, RFID enabled implantable chips, and electronic tattoos. We also identify known and potential security and privacy vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies for consideration in future IoBNT designs and implementations.INDEX TERMS Bio-cyber interface, Internet of Bio-Nano Things, Bio-electronic device security, Bio-inspired security approaches
I. INTRODUCTIONWith recent pandemics and the associated lockdown regime, there has been renewed, if not accelerated, interest, in exploring electronic and remote delivery of healthcare services. One of the recent trends is in the Internet of Bio-Nano Things (IoBNT) systems, which