Podcast - Who Owns Your DNA? Lessons Learned from 23andMe
State AG Pulse | CT AG Reacts to Genetic Data Breach
On March 23, 2025, 23andMe, along with its affiliates, filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company’s decision to file for bankruptcy follows in the wake of a 2023 data breach affecting close to 7 million customer...more
23andMe’s recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing has sparked significant concerns over the privacy and security of genetic data belonging to its 15 million customers. Founded in 2006, 23andMe built its business around...more
23andMe files for bankruptcy, Anne Wojcicki steps down as CEO | CNBC - Genetic testing company 23andMe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Missouri federal court. Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and CEO, has resigned...more
In November 2023, a class action lawsuit was filed against the genetic testing company, 23andMe. The plaintiffs alleged that a data breach resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of 6.9 million users’ personal and genetic...more
The recent $30 million settlement between 23andMe and 6.4 million users following a major data breach offers important lessons for businesses dealing with sensitive genetic and genomic information....more
“Cybersecurity” has emerged as one of top risks facing organizations. Considering the steady stream of massive data breaches affecting millions (sometimes billions), the debilitating effects of ransomware on an organization’s...more
The Illinois’ Genetic Information Privacy Act (“GIPA”) has been Illinois law for over twenty years. Yet, only in the last year or two has there been an explosion of lawsuits being filed against companies in various...more
We previously alerted readers to the fact that the most recent data compromise of 23andMe exposed data related to Ashkenazi Jews and individuals of Chinese descent. It is reported by Ars Technica, citing TechCrunch, that...more
In October of 2023, a hacker claimed online that they had 23andMe users’ profile information. We know this as a result of 23andMe’s required statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on December 1, 2023. ...more
On Oct. 6, 2023, a genetic testing company offering ancestry and health reports, 23andMe, announced that its consumers’ data was listed on the dark web. Interestingly, many prominent figures such as Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk...more
A data breach that exposed sensitive data collected in genetic testing that could potentially be used to target vulnerable populations has attracted the attention of Connecticut AG William Tong. In Episode 9, Chris Allen and...more
Connecticut AG William Tong sent an inquiry letter to 23andMe, Inc. asking the genetic testing and ancestry company for more information regarding an October 6th press release in which it disclosed that customer profile...more
CYBERSECURITY - New Mexico County Recovering from Ransomware Attack - Another day, another governmental entity hit with a ransomware attack. If you are a resident of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and you need a marriage...more
Security researchers Intezer and IBM X-Force have identified a new ransomware that is seriously vicious. It’s PureLocker—named because it is programmed in PureBasic language, which is apparently unusual. ...more
Last week, Veritas Genetics, a consumer-facing DNA testing company, suffered a security breach affecting customer information in its database. Veritas offers whole-genome sequencing to consumers for $599. The security...more
Consistent with our experience, security firm McAfee has confirmed in a report that ransomware attacks have doubled in 2019. Medical providers have been hit hard this year, and one provider, Wood Ranch Medical, located in...more
It is being reported that Vitagene, a company that provides DNA testing to provide customers with specific wellness plans through personalized diet and exercise plans based on their biological traits, left more than 3,000...more
Vicious malware continues to be deployed by China-based attackers. A new strain of malware, dubbed “HiddenWasp,” which has the ability to remotely infect computers, has been discovered by a security researcher at Intezar. The...more
On June 3, 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a fraud alert to notify consumers about genetic testing fraud schemes (the Alert)....more
In the top three of the list of highly sensitive personal data to be concerned about is our medical information. It’s so sensitive because it is so personal. It used to be that our medical information was located in paper...more
To illustrate just how creative phishing campaigns have become, on January 30, 2019, it was reported by multiple credit unions that Bank Secrecy Act officers at credit unions around the country received emails that appeared...more