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I don’t think you are reading this correctly. People could access (most importantly) the full raw DNA profile. And many of those breached were from people who

by pama 3y ago

I don’t think you are reading this correctly. People could access (most importantly) the full raw DNA profile. And many of those breached were from people who opted in a “Relatives” feature even if their account was secure.

ellisv 3y ago
I don't see where in the article is suggests that the attackers were able to obtain the raw genotype data of anyone other than the compromised account.
- pama 3y ago
  The pics of the offer and pricing suggests uniform DNA info rather than names or passwords for some and raw DNA profiles for others. Also this from the article: “ The compromised accounts had opted into the platform's 'DNA Relatives' feature, which allows users to find genetic relatives and connect with them. The threat actor accessed a small number of 23andMe accounts and then scraped the data of their DNA Relative matches, which shows how opting into a feature can have unexpected privacy consequences.” Edit: maybe you are right about the lack of genetic info, if this account is correct (unless the researcher didn’t pay full price, and only got the metadata): https://therecord.media/scraping-incident-genetic-testing-site https://therecord.media/scraping-incident-genetic-testing-si...
lozenge 3y ago
23andme doesn't sequence DNA, it just checks some genomes. https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/227968028-How-23andMe-Personal-Genetic-Service-Works https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/227968028...
- beaugunderson 3y ago
  23andMe uses a SNP array, or SNP chip, to look at SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or more generally, single nucleotides that vary within a population). Basically what it gives you is a diff against a reference genome. So yes, while not a full genome sequence you can still get a VCF file out of it, impute sites that are not on the chip, use it for genealogy analysis, look at someone's disease carrier status, genetic disease likelihood, etc.
  - dash2 3y ago
    Yeah, I mean this is about 1 million SNPs, right? It's very very personal indeed. I could make good guesses at the chance of you going to university; your height; your risk of depression; what you look like....

by pama 3y ago

ellisv 3y ago

I don't see where in the article is suggests that the attackers were able to obtain the raw genotype data of anyone other than the compromised account.

pama 3y ago
The pics of the offer and pricing suggests uniform DNA info rather than names or passwords for some and raw DNA profiles for others. Also this from the article: “ The compromised accounts had opted into the platform's 'DNA Relatives' feature, which allows users to find genetic relatives and connect with them. The threat actor accessed a small number of 23andMe accounts and then scraped the data of their DNA Relative matches, which shows how opting into a feature can have unexpected privacy consequences.” Edit: maybe you are right about the lack of genetic info, if this account is correct (unless the researcher didn’t pay full price, and only got the metadata): https://therecord.media/scraping-incident-genetic-testing-site https://therecord.media/scraping-incident-genetic-testing-si...

lozenge 3y ago

23andme doesn't sequence DNA, it just checks some genomes. https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/227968028-How-23andMe-Personal-Genetic-Service-Works https://customercare.23andme.com/hc/en-us/articles/227968028...

beaugunderson 3y ago
23andMe uses a SNP array, or SNP chip, to look at SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or more generally, single nucleotides that vary within a population). Basically what it gives you is a diff against a reference genome. So yes, while not a full genome sequence you can still get a VCF file out of it, impute sites that are not on the chip, use it for genealogy analysis, look at someone's disease carrier status, genetic disease likelihood, etc.
- dash2 3y ago
  Yeah, I mean this is about 1 million SNPs, right? It's very very personal indeed. I could make good guesses at the chance of you going to university; your height; your risk of depression; what you look like....