Cyber-Physical Security of Microfluidic Biochips: Safeguarding Healthcare in the Era of Global Pandemics and Point-of-Care Testing

Speaker: Navajit Singh Baban (Division of Engineering, Center for Cybersecurity, NYU Abu Dhabi)

Abstract:

Microfluidic biochips (MBs), a transformative class of lab-on-a-chip devices, are reshaping clinical diagnostics, point-of-care testing, and biomedical research. However, their rapid commercialization and complex global supply chain have made them increasingly vulnerable to three major security threats: structural attacks, material attacks, and intellectual property (IP) theft-based attacks, posing significant risks to healthcare and biomedical integrity. Structural attacks involve malicious modifications to micro-reaction chamber heights, potentially leading to faulty diagnostics. To address this, we developed a deep-learning-based anomaly detection framework that effectively identifies microstructural inconsistencies. Material attacks target the integrity of biochips through stealthy chemical alterations during fabrication, degrading device performance while evading conventional quality control checks. A prime example is BioTrojans—chemically altered microvalves designed to fail prematurely when triggered. To counteract this, we introduced a mechanoresponsive dye-based watermarking system, which shifts spectral peaks in response to material deformation. By leveraging a calibrated spectral-intensity curve, this approach enables real-time spectrometric detection of compromised materials, ensuring biochip reliability. IP theft-based attacks, such as reverse engineering, counterfeiting, and piracy, further threaten biochip security by enabling unauthorized replication and overproduction. To mitigate these risks, we developed advanced authentication strategies, including device-level watermarking, melt-electrospun biochip fingerprinting, and physically unclonable functions (PUFs), providing robust image-based and spectral-based authentication. By integrating multi-layered security countermeasures, this work fortifies MBs against emerging cyber-physical threats, ensuring their reliability, trustworthiness, and security in an era of global pandemics, rapid point-of-care diagnostics, and the growing demand for secure biomedical technologies.

Biography:

Dr. Navajit Singh Baban is a postdoctoral associate at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Division of Engineering, Center for Cybersecurity, specializing in the cyber-physical security of biochips. He holds a B.Tech. in Mechanical Engineering from VIT University, an M.Tech. in Materials Science from IIT Kanpur, and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from NYU, where he was a Global Ph.D. Fellow, completing his doctorate in 2021.

His research lies at the intersection of cybersecurity, mechanical engineering, bioengineering, and materials science, focusing on developing security frameworks to protect biochips from malicious attacks, which occur at the micro- and nano-structural level and the material level. He also works on authentication techniques, such as watermarking, fingerprinting, and physically unclonable functions (PUFs), to combat intellectual property theft-based attacks, such as counterfeiting, overbuilding, reverse engineering, and piracy.

Beyond biochip security, Dr. Baban has a strong interest in biomechanics, particularly bioinspired fracture and adhesion mechanics, where he integrates nature-driven innovations into bioengineering solutions. Dedicated to translating research into real-world applications, his work focuses on advancing cyber-physically secure and resilient biotechnology and healthcare.