SCWorld.com reported that “News of the troubled DNA testing services company 23andMe filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection set off a spirited debate in the security community this week as experts expressed concern over the fate of the DNA data the company collected for the past two decades.” The March 25, 2025 article entitled ” Fate of DNA data raises privacy, identity issues in 23andMe bankruptcy” (https://tinyurl.com/59ckz65d) included these comments from Aditya Sood (vice president of security engineering and AI strategy at Aryaka):
The bankruptcy filing of 23andMe raises a pressing issue about the fate of its highly sensitive genetic data, which is now at risk of being sold off or mishandled, … Now, the fate of millions of DNA profiles hangs in the balance, raising urgent concerns about who may ultimately gain access to this deeply personal information.
…that attackers can exploit DNA profiles for identity theft, genetic discrimination, extortion, or even tailored social-engineering attacks. Adversaries could potentially launch medical identity theft using stolen genetic data to impersonate individuals for fraudulent medical treatments or prescriptions, said Sood.
The potential for targeted bio-threats, enabled by advances in biotechnology and gene-based medicine, is not a distant possibility, but a real and immediate danger,…DNA could be leveraged to access personalized medicine gene therapy or sell fake genetic test results on the black market to alter victims’ medical records, resulting in misdiagnosis, incorrect treatments, or insurance fraud.
Bad news, what do you think?
First published at https://www.vogelitlaw.com/blog/23andme-bankruptcy-threatens-privacy-of-millions-around-the-world