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Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

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41–50 of 424 posts

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#41

This is why I’ve been putting off getting my genome sequenced. One breach and it’s out there forever. I’ve heard good things about nebula[0] as a way to get an anonymous genome but have yet to be motivated enough to take the plunge [0] https://nebula.org/whole-genome-sequencing/

About a decade ago I thought about volunteering for one of the public genome projects but then realized that (1) the legal protections didn’t exist yet and (2) the privacy question should be considered not only by me but also by my family.

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#42

This is why I’ve been putting off getting my genome sequenced. One breach and it’s out there forever. I’ve heard good things about nebula[0] as a way to get an anonymous genome but have yet to be motivated enough to take the plunge [0] https://nebula.org/whole-genome-sequencing/

Is there any law/rule stopping me from getting your DNA and getting it sequenced? Other than most people wouldn't want to pay to get that done? Collecting your DNA would be the hardest part of that, I guess.

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#43

As someone who works in cybersecurity, it's always hard for me to interpret PR language like "orchestrated through a sophisticated attack". This could be aimed towards non-savvy readers meaning basically anything or it could be accurate and describe a nation-state (although I don't get the feeling of a sophisticated nation-state actor here). The DoJ used similar wording when prosecuting Aaron Schwartz for using Pytho…

Often, security bulletins will use the word sophisticated when describing multi-step attacks.

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#44

As someone who works in cybersecurity, it's always hard for me to interpret PR language like "orchestrated through a sophisticated attack". This could be aimed towards non-savvy readers meaning basically anything or it could be accurate and describe a nation-state (although I don't get the feeling of a sophisticated nation-state actor here). The DoJ used similar wording when prosecuting Aaron Schwartz for using Pytho…

I think the metaphor of "orchestration" refers to, as an analogy to actually composing/arranging music for an orchestra, getting lots of other entities to do what one entity specifies that they do. Amplification of control. Not "basically anything."

"Sophisticated" I suppose means above-average in complexity, which indeed could be "basically anything."

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#45

As someone who works in cybersecurity, it's always hard for me to interpret PR language like "orchestrated through a sophisticated attack". This could be aimed towards non-savvy readers meaning basically anything or it could be accurate and describe a nation-state (although I don't get the feeling of a sophisticated nation-state actor here). The DoJ used similar wording when prosecuting Aaron Schwartz for using Pytho…

Just wait until Krebs on Security talks about it.

Krebs on Doxxing

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#46
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nebula is definitely an interesting entry into the market. There's also Dante Labs[0], which often offers 30x whole genome in the 200-300USD range. You can download all your raw data (including FASTQs, h37-aligned BAMs, and VCFs) from AWS. There are some quality concerns (and they use BGI instead of Illumina sequencers), but at that price it's tempting to do Dante and Nebula as a check on each other. Dante also has w…

> including an option to destroy your saliva sample Until I read that sentence, it honestly never occurred to me they would keep that around. The data, sure. Biological samples? I just assumed they would be disposed of after use.

Collect it all.

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#47

This is why I’ve been putting off getting my genome sequenced. One breach and it’s out there forever. I’ve heard good things about nebula[0] as a way to get an anonymous genome but have yet to be motivated enough to take the plunge [0] https://nebula.org/whole-genome-sequencing/

About a decade ago I thought about volunteering for one of the public genome projects but then realized that (1) the legal protections didn’t exist yet and (2) the privacy question should be considered not only by me but also by my family.

One of the biggest of those: https://www.joinallofus.org/

I've considered joining it.

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#48
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nebula is definitely an interesting entry into the market. There's also Dante Labs[0], which often offers 30x whole genome in the 200-300USD range. You can download all your raw data (including FASTQs, h37-aligned BAMs, and VCFs) from AWS. There are some quality concerns (and they use BGI instead of Illumina sequencers), but at that price it's tempting to do Dante and Nebula as a check on each other. Dante also has w…

> including an option to destroy your saliva sample Until I read that sentence, it honestly never occurred to me they would keep that around. The data, sure. Biological samples? I just assumed they would be disposed of after use.

Ever heard of HeLa cells?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeLa

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#49
post #27

Can someone explain the potential short to medium term fears of one's DNA leaking? My initial assumption is that it would be less of a problem compared to nearly any other personal data leaking. Like it certainly sounds creepy, but credit card or other financial data being stolen presents a huge headache and creates a lot of work. I understand that in specific instances, for example when paternity is in question or i…

this presentation outlines the kind of terrible attacks that could be based on your DNA in the near future https://youtu.be/HKQDSgBHPfY tldr, CRISPR allows targeting bioweapons at specific individuals.

Thanks for the link to that video. I don't have the time to watch it now, but I will come back to it later. Although on the surface, specifically targeted bio-engineered weapons seems like a silly fear for most us when bullets are so cheap. If someone wants me dead, I don't think any difficulty accessing my genome is going to be what stops them.

Re: Breach exposed more than one million DNA profiles on a major genealogy database

#50

This is why I’ve been putting off getting my genome sequenced. One breach and it’s out there forever. I’ve heard good things about nebula[0] as a way to get an anonymous genome but have yet to be motivated enough to take the plunge [0] https://nebula.org/whole-genome-sequencing/

Nebula is definitely an interesting entry into the market. There's also Dante Labs[0], which often offers 30x whole genome in the 200-300USD range. You can download all your raw data (including FASTQs, h37-aligned BAMs, and VCFs) from AWS. There are some quality concerns (and they use BGI instead of Illumina sequencers), but at that price it's tempting to do Dante and Nebula as a check on each other. Dante also has w…

Is it strange to suggest discussing anything on Facebook, given how little privacy is afforded to users?

I find it just a bit weird that products that customers recognize require privacy as a core tenant would also just head on over to Facebook to add new, targeted meta to their verified Facebook profile.

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