A hacker managed to steal the personal genetic information of 23andMe, the company announced.
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The site 23andMe allows people to send in a DNA and have it tested, and then the results are sent to them. Customers can learn their genetic information, which can tell them things about health as well as their relatives and where they may have lived.
However, some of this information was leaked by hackers and appears to have become available online, the company says.
The company made the statement after hackers appeared to be trying to sell the information online. 23andMe did not say whether any or all of the data — which included celebrity names — was real.
However, it was reported that the information was “collected from individuals’ accounts on 23andMe.com without the permission of the account users.” The investigation is still ongoing, according to the company, and it is unclear the extent of the problem.
The company says the data appears to have been compromised by a hacker who used recycled login credentials from other previously compromised websites. This is a common technique for hacking into profiles, and cybersecurity experts recommend using different passwords for different websites and changing them regularly to avoid it.
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After the hackers successfully infiltrated these accounts, they exploited a feature of 23andMe that allowed them to gather even more information. 23andMe offers a tool called “DNA Relatives,” which allows users to connect with people who have similar genetic information to help build their family tree — meaning the hackers were able to gather information about other people whose accounts weren’t actually compromised.
The company said there was no indication that its own systems had been compromised or that they were the source of the credentials used. However, it is recommending that people change their passwords and enable multi-factor authentication to ensure the security of their accounts.
The consequences and risks arising from the theft of genetic information can be particularly worrying. As those familiar with the genetics sector know, the implications of such information leaks can be quite worrying for the victims and, by extension, for the sector in general.
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- Discrimination based on genetic information: If a person's genetic information ends up in the wrong hands, they may have a different perception of that person based on their genetic heritage.
- Privacy: Genetic information is the most personal information we have. Citizens have the right to feel that this information is secure.
It is clear, then, that the threat is real and significant, but how should we deal with such a scenario? What can the scientific community do to address this apparently growing problem? This is more a question for the future than an answer that can be given now.
Source: independent
