US medicine supply system 'vulnerable to attack'

A terrorist attack against the US's medicine supply system is a growing threat that requires immediate attention, according to a new report from risk management firm GlobalOptions and consultancy Reconnaissance International.

The report, An Analysis of Terrorist Threats to America's Medicine Supply, says that while the US medicine supply is the safest in the world, terrorists present a threat that should not be ignored.

The report identified three main terrorist threats to the medicine supply:

• Terrorists producing and selling harmful pharmaceuticals by infiltrating the counterfeit drug market

• Terrorists raising funds from pharmaceuticals for attacks by using fake and illegal drugs as a source of revenue.

• Terrorists mounting an attack using drugs laced with poisons or pathogens - terrorists have previously launched attacks by placing poisons in food products.

'Step by step terror groups are gaining expertise to produce and distribute fake drugs,' the report states. 'Sales of counterfeit drugs already have been used by terrorists to purchase arms and fund attacks.'

They can readily purchase machines to produce tainted pills, and the same packaging equipment that is available to legitimate pharmaceutical manufacturers can also be obtained by terrorists, the report adds.

An attack against the US medicine supply system using the Internet offers the lowest risk to terror groups, but could be the most devastating to consumers, it warns. Terrorists, with limited skills, could set up an online pharmacy, generate a customer base, and then deliver tainted goods to unwitting consumers from virtually anywhere in the world.

The terrorists could employ the same deceptive tactics now used by fraudulent Internet pharmacies. In a sampling of 45 drug websites that appear to originate in Canada, roughly one-third seem to be located in other countries. Three sites were registered in Barbados, one was in Mexico, and five were in the US. Another five were of unknown origin.