The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will appoint an ad hoc planning committee to convene two workshops to discuss current and future issues in preventing, deterring, and countering bioterrorism. The focus will be on three primary issues, all of which were highlighted during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and previous biological incidents:

(1) Policy and technical capabilities for forensics and attribution of biological incidents of unknown or questionable origin, including current scientific capabilities and their limitations at determining whether the incidents were man-made.

(2) Current and future threats of mis- and disinformation campaigns that contribute to challenges toward prevention, detection, and accurate attribution of biological terrorism incidents.

(3) Gaps in policies and programs for addressing biological terrorism based on lessons learned from the pandemic and other biological incidents, and awareness about actor capabilities, motivations, and resources.

NASEM will produce rapporteur-prepared workshop proceedings-in-brief.