With 23 and Me filing for bankruptcy protection, the head of UAB’s Center for Cybersecurity suggests that if the DNA testing company has your data, that you don’t wait for their corporate drama to play out before you move to protect it.
) - With 23andMe filing for bankruptcy protection, the head of UAB’s Center for Cybersecurity suggests that if the DNA testing company has your data, that you don’t wait for their corporate drama to play out before you move to protect it.
“It turns out that even though they have many, many, users who have used their system, there’s no steady stream of revenue out of that” says Dr. Hasan. “So once people are done with the test, they’re not willing to put money into that. They tried the subscription model and that didn’t work out. And also, they were hit by a cybersecurity breach in 2023 that really hurt their reputation. So that, and all these other factors contributed to their downfall.” Unlike medical DNA testing firms, Dr. Hasan says consumer testing companies like 23andMe are not bound by federal HIPPA laws that protect patient privacy. That means if the company goes into bankruptcy and its assets can be sold, the database holding your information can be purchased. And that, says Hasan, is why you should make the company destroy your data if they have it. “Your DNA contains a lot of information about you, your family, and everyone. So, if a marketing company can get hold of that information, they know what health issues you may have in the future. So, they can use that to market data, market products to you for the rest of your life, or insurance companies and others. They can discriminate against you. Even employers can look up this information to figure out the health risk of their potential employees and discriminate based on that. So, this is a much more serious risk than losing a credit card number or other information because DNA is permanent, you can’t change your DNA.”
NEWS MYFOXAL FOX6 FOX 6 FOX6 NEWS WBRCNEWSAL UAB CYBER 23 AND ME DATA BREACHES BANKRUPTCY STEVE CROCKER
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
23andMe special committee again rejects CEO Wojcicki's take-private offer23andMe's special committee of independent directors on Monday rejected CEO Anne Wojcicki's proposal to take the distressed genetic testing company private.
Read more »
State official reminds 23andMe customers they can tell embattled firm to delete their dataThe South San Francisco-based genetic testing company is facing an uncertain future.
Read more »
AG Bonta reminds 23andMe customers of the right to delete their dataCalifornia's attorney general is sending out a warning Friday amid worries 23andMe, a Bay Area-based DNA testing company, will go under and take customers' data with it.
Read more »
Calif. AG issues stark warning to 15 million 23andMe users as bankruptcy looms: 'Delete your data'There are concerns that information belonging to customers of 23andMe could be at risk now that the company is facing bankruptcy.
Read more »
23andMe files for bankruptcy as CEO steps downDNA testing firm 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to help facilitate a sale of the company after years of financial difficulties.
Read more »
23andMe files for bankruptcy protectionThe company said that it will now attempt to sell itself under the supervision of a court.
Read more »