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It used to be quite trendy just a few years ago, having your DNA done and discovering your ethnic origins (seems most of us have a bit of Scandinavian due to some Viking or other marrying one of the locals a thousand years back or so).
A few shocks too, I was only reading this story a few days ago -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3njqd9nl9o
I still can't make my mind up if that is an happy ending or a sad one - they find their true mum but lose the one they believed all through the life was their real one.
Anyway what I'm really on about is this story today -
DNA-testing site 23andMe fights for survival
The headline is really about what went wrong for this company...
Its share price rocketed to $321.
Fast forward three years and that price has slumped to just under $5 - and the company is worth 2% of what it once was.
What went wrong?
...but the really interesting bit is what happens to all the DNA data the company holds...
AND how it can possibly effect YOU even though you've never sent your DNA to be tested!!!
Companies rising and falling is nothing new - especially in tech. But 23andMe is different.
"It's worrying because of the sensitivity of the data," says Carissa Veliz, author of Privacy is Power.
And that is not just for the individuals who have used the firm.
"If you gave your data to 23andMe, you also gave the genetic data of your parents, your siblings, your children, and even distant kin who did not consent to that," she told the BBC.
David Stillwell, professor of computational social science at Cambridge Judge Business School, agrees the stakes are high.
“DNA data is different. If your bank account details are hacked, it will be disruptive but you can get a new bank account," he explained.
"If your (non-identical) sibling has used it, they share 50% of your DNA, so their data can still be used to make health predictions about you.”
The company is adamant these kinds of concerns are without foundation.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gm08nlxr3o
Even just a few years back I would have been happy to give my DNA, finger prints, or any personal details of myself to the police, government, or any regulative body that required them for whatever good reason there might be but these days I'm not so sure I would be quite that keen anymore.
I still would be happy to give my DNA etc because I know I have done nothing wrong, have nothing to hide but these days I'm not sure I want it 'out there' because I no longer trust who would eventually have access to it and use it for whatever reasons they would.
Am I getting paranoid - well I think I may be a bit - but with good reason, nothing seems to be secure anymore.
Take the company in question - it's already been hacked!!!
23andMe: Profiles of 6.9 million people hacked
Hackers have been able to gain access to personal information from about 6.9 million users of genetic testing company 23andMe, using customers' old passwords.
In some cases this included family trees, birth years and geographic locations, the company said.
After weeks of speculation the firm has put a number on the breach, with more than half of its customers affected.
The stolen data does not include DNA records.
23andMe is a giant of the growing ancestor-tracing industry. It offers genetic testing from DNA, with ancestry breakdown and personalised health insights.
The biotechnology company, which is based in South San Francisco, was not hacked itself but cyber-criminals logged into about 14,000 individual accounts, or 0.1% of customers, by using email and password details previously exposed in other hacks.
As was first reported by Tech Crunch, external, the company has acknowledged that by accessing those accounts, hackers were then able to find their way into "a significant number of files containing profile information about other users' ancestry".
The criminals downloaded not just the data from those accounts but the private information of all other users they had links to across the sprawling family trees on the website.
The stolen data includes information like names, how each person is linked and in some cases birth years, locations, pictures, addresses and the percentage of DNA shared with relatives.
As first reported by TechCrunch, the hackers were able to access the family tree profile information of about 1.4 million other customers participating in the DNA relatives feature, including display names and relationship labels.
One batch of data was advertised on a hacking forum as a list of people with Jewish ancestry, sparking concerns of targeted attacks.
But there is currently no evidence that any of the datasets being advertised have had any buyers or that they have been used by criminals.
Ok, no DNA info was taken that time - but what about the next time...!
I don't suppose my DNA or finger prints or whatever amounts to much importance but why should my name, etc, be out there on the dark web, because my brother has innocently been researching our family tree?
I know I'm probably on several things on the dark web aiready as my details are given for everything you do online (everybody's details are) and hacks occur everywhere all the time.
Anyway back to the DNA story, the worry of having it hacked ...
...the data stored by 23andMe "can reveal information about an individual and their family members, including about their health, ethnicity, and biological relationships".
"In the wrong hands, an individual’s genetic information could be misused for surveillance or discrimination,"
"It's worrying because of the sensitivity of the data," says Carissa Veliz, author of Privacy is Power.
Carissa Veliz remains uneasy - and says ultimately a much robust approach is needed if we want to keep our most personal information safe.
"The terms and conditions of these companies are typically incredibly inclusive; when you give out your personal data to them, you allow them to do pretty much anything they want with it," she said.
I'm not sure that I will be happy in this Brave New World.
Everybody else seems happy enough to give all their personal stuff to the world though?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67624182
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gg17pq5y9o
A few shocks too, I was only reading this story a few days ago -
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3njqd9nl9o
I still can't make my mind up if that is an happy ending or a sad one - they find their true mum but lose the one they believed all through the life was their real one.
Anyway what I'm really on about is this story today -
DNA-testing site 23andMe fights for survival
The headline is really about what went wrong for this company...
Its share price rocketed to $321.
Fast forward three years and that price has slumped to just under $5 - and the company is worth 2% of what it once was.
What went wrong?
...but the really interesting bit is what happens to all the DNA data the company holds...
AND how it can possibly effect YOU even though you've never sent your DNA to be tested!!!
Companies rising and falling is nothing new - especially in tech. But 23andMe is different.
"It's worrying because of the sensitivity of the data," says Carissa Veliz, author of Privacy is Power.
And that is not just for the individuals who have used the firm.
"If you gave your data to 23andMe, you also gave the genetic data of your parents, your siblings, your children, and even distant kin who did not consent to that," she told the BBC.
David Stillwell, professor of computational social science at Cambridge Judge Business School, agrees the stakes are high.
“DNA data is different. If your bank account details are hacked, it will be disruptive but you can get a new bank account," he explained.
"If your (non-identical) sibling has used it, they share 50% of your DNA, so their data can still be used to make health predictions about you.”
The company is adamant these kinds of concerns are without foundation.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gm08nlxr3o
Even just a few years back I would have been happy to give my DNA, finger prints, or any personal details of myself to the police, government, or any regulative body that required them for whatever good reason there might be but these days I'm not so sure I would be quite that keen anymore.
I still would be happy to give my DNA etc because I know I have done nothing wrong, have nothing to hide but these days I'm not sure I want it 'out there' because I no longer trust who would eventually have access to it and use it for whatever reasons they would.
Am I getting paranoid - well I think I may be a bit - but with good reason, nothing seems to be secure anymore.
Take the company in question - it's already been hacked!!!
23andMe: Profiles of 6.9 million people hacked
Hackers have been able to gain access to personal information from about 6.9 million users of genetic testing company 23andMe, using customers' old passwords.
In some cases this included family trees, birth years and geographic locations, the company said.
After weeks of speculation the firm has put a number on the breach, with more than half of its customers affected.
The stolen data does not include DNA records.
23andMe is a giant of the growing ancestor-tracing industry. It offers genetic testing from DNA, with ancestry breakdown and personalised health insights.
The biotechnology company, which is based in South San Francisco, was not hacked itself but cyber-criminals logged into about 14,000 individual accounts, or 0.1% of customers, by using email and password details previously exposed in other hacks.
As was first reported by Tech Crunch, external, the company has acknowledged that by accessing those accounts, hackers were then able to find their way into "a significant number of files containing profile information about other users' ancestry".
The criminals downloaded not just the data from those accounts but the private information of all other users they had links to across the sprawling family trees on the website.
The stolen data includes information like names, how each person is linked and in some cases birth years, locations, pictures, addresses and the percentage of DNA shared with relatives.
As first reported by TechCrunch, the hackers were able to access the family tree profile information of about 1.4 million other customers participating in the DNA relatives feature, including display names and relationship labels.
One batch of data was advertised on a hacking forum as a list of people with Jewish ancestry, sparking concerns of targeted attacks.
But there is currently no evidence that any of the datasets being advertised have had any buyers or that they have been used by criminals.
Ok, no DNA info was taken that time - but what about the next time...!
I don't suppose my DNA or finger prints or whatever amounts to much importance but why should my name, etc, be out there on the dark web, because my brother has innocently been researching our family tree?
I know I'm probably on several things on the dark web aiready as my details are given for everything you do online (everybody's details are) and hacks occur everywhere all the time.
Anyway back to the DNA story, the worry of having it hacked ...
...the data stored by 23andMe "can reveal information about an individual and their family members, including about their health, ethnicity, and biological relationships".
"In the wrong hands, an individual’s genetic information could be misused for surveillance or discrimination,"
"It's worrying because of the sensitivity of the data," says Carissa Veliz, author of Privacy is Power.
Carissa Veliz remains uneasy - and says ultimately a much robust approach is needed if we want to keep our most personal information safe.
"The terms and conditions of these companies are typically incredibly inclusive; when you give out your personal data to them, you allow them to do pretty much anything they want with it," she said.
I'm not sure that I will be happy in this Brave New World.
Everybody else seems happy enough to give all their personal stuff to the world though?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-67624182
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gg17pq5y9o
