Comment Re:"Security" (Score 1) 120
Nice to know they actually keep track of these things. What's next? "Nuke found in sandbox"
Consider this: 50 years ago, they were just samples of a common infection --- no extraordinary accounting or security measures were required, and it's certainly possible that a number of samples slipped through the cracks and have been "lost" and are just out there somewhere.
Who would have known that Smallpox would eventually be mostly eradicated, and security would ever be a concern?
You can't bolt on security after the fact ---- Smallpox is out there, and someone who wants it badly enough, with sufficient resources, who knows where to look, can surely find it by some means. Hint: This includes state actors, such as countries who would be our enemies. I'm not concerned about terrorists ---- only, foreign governments, or utterly callous or insane (but rich) people, e.g. arms dealers, for the most part.
As for the terrorists.... I think they'll stick with something simpler, as getting ahold of Smallpox is neither easy nor cheap, nor likely an efficient use of their resources; I doubt that a slow-spreading disease is really capable of generating a sufficient level of terror, for their tastes: anyways.
Terrorists have a number of potentially nasty biological and chemical poisonous agents, which are likely much easier for those folks to get ahold of. Also, explosives or poisons in crowded areas with immediate casualties gets more attention.
The greatest concern should be that they get ahold of a WMD or ability to generate a large amount of radioactive material, that can 'safely' be handled and dispersed without great expertise.