rom
rom

I was tempted to do it at first, but good thing I didn’t. Now this is really concerning for those who took the 23andMe tests.

23andMe Data Stolen

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pratik
pratik

@rom I haven’t done it for that reason. BTW the DNA data was not stolen

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rom
rom

@pratik well, right now, they say DNA data is not included… :)

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ladyhope
ladyhope

@rom Oh yeah, it's not something I've ever done, or ever recommend.

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val
val

@rom @pratik @ladyhope call me ignorant, but genuine question - what's the worst that can be done with stolen DNA data?

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pratik
pratik

@val build a dinosaur version of me?

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ladyhope
ladyhope

@val Well if it's actual raw DNA data, it could be uploaded somewhere by the hackers who stole it, most likely using TOR, which we usually call "the dark web." Not sure why we call it that, I guess because it's completely anonymous. I've hopped on there a few times just for some random surfing myself. No, I haven't gotten into anything strange.

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ladyhope
ladyhope

@val Actual data as in the test results they give you, or the results they have before they give them to you, their interpretation of the results. I know a bit about forensic DNA analysis. The interpretations, before they put them in a nice report, are usually called electropherograms. Now I thought they quit using electrophoresis a long time ago, but apparently they still use it for some things.

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In reply to
sod
sod

@val Personal information is often used in targeted scams and blackmail scenarios. It's a lot easier to pretend to be your doctor, for example, if I know about your health conditions.

In the same vein, the more you know about a person, the easier it gets to impersonate them. So identity theft is another risk.

After data laundering, your DNA data is gold to your insurance company. They can adjust your premium based on how healthy you are, how long you could potentially live, how inclined you are to take risks, etc.

And it's not hard to imagine what a group of violent antisemites can do with a list of Ashkenazi Jews.

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rom
rom

@val as @ladyhope @sod have said - a lot can be done. :)

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ladyhope
ladyhope

@rom Yeah that's true. I've never seen raw test data be hacked and stolen, so I'm not sure what would happen with it if it got spread around, but I can imagine on top of that, you can't change DNA like you can change a password.

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