News reported that a genetic site, 23andMe, was hacked.
Always heard that you can fool the genetic sites by swapping DNA with another person who was interested in getting their DNA looked up too. In other words, Mr Jones would send in Mr. Smith’s sample and Mr. Smith would send in Mr. Jone’s DNA sample. The database would have no true record of the indvidual’s’ DNA because the samples were swapped. Hackers would have useless info on Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith unless the DNA sites require ID verification.
I must by more dense than usual.
1- why would anyone submit their DNA sample under another name? Benefits? Reasons?
2- why would hackers want a person’s DNA results?
What am I missing here?
MORE: I found the article that explains it. [kinda]
"The bad actor did so “in instances where users recycled login credentials — that is, usernames and passwords that were used on 23andMe.com were the same as those used on other websites that have been previously hacked.”
In other words, use different creds for different sites. Problem solved
Chicken genetics is my hobby, so knowing my own genetics is definitely of interest. But i have quite thorough family trees going back generations, so finding unknown relatives (unless we’re talking something like 4th or 5th cousins) is unlikely to give new information. And I’m not sure whether I want to know about genes with deleterious affects…I both do and do not.
I definitely don’t want anyone else to have my information unless I deliberately choose to give it…my kids being an obvious exception.
It might not matter (if you are white), here is an article from 5 years ago:
But as these registries of genetic identity grow, it’s becoming harder for individuals to retain any anonymity. Already, 60 percent of Americans of Northern European descent — the primary group using these sites — can be identified through such databases whether or not they’ve joined one themselves, Within two or three years, 90 percent of Americans of European descent will be identifiable from their DNA
Swapping DNA with another person might NOT be a great idea.
Let’s say that the friend that you swapped DNA samples with, commits a crime like murder or rape, etc. The police do a DNA swab and look up the DNA. You are now a suspect. That might not be a problem you think, but the police might grab you and throw you in jail as a suspect until a DNA trest can be verified. That can take days.
“Police have DNA evidence in a brutal murder, but can’t match a killer – so how did a public DNA database lead police to suspect?”
I know, now you are thinking “I would never swap DNA samples with someone who was sketchy, etc. I’m a better judge of character than that”.
Yeah, almost every time a mass murderer, serial rapist, school shooter, etc is captured, the most common exclamation is “Gee, I lived next door to them for years and never suspected they had people chained in the basement”. “My son would NEVER do that!”, etc. There was the lawsuit with the Father that locked his son in a small room in the garage for years… the neighbors had no idea. Or John Wayne Gacy who buried 26 people in the crawlspace of his house. No neighbors suspected… and I’ll bet they all though they were good judges of character. Besides, he was a clown that entertained children at parties…
So, yeah, swapping DNA samples is not as great as just making up a name on the form.
I searched and found that many of these DNA sites allow you to submit anonymously or set up an account and chnage to initials or say that you wish to be anonymous. It appeared each site handled it differently. There was concern whe nthis DNA stuff started that medical info would be gathered by the insurance companys somehow. Meaning that you might lose coverage if they found that you were suceptable to something like cancer.