CYBERSECURITY THIS WEEK: 23ANDME BANKRUPTCY RAISES CONCERNS ABOUT USER DATA
On Monday, March 24th, genetic testing company, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy. The filing seems to be a long time coming as the company struggled to maintain its revenue stream and has been hemorrhaging funds for years. For instance, in November, the company fired 40% of its staff to cut costs. However, one of the more pressing concerns people have is regarding 23andMe’s data. 23andMe holds the genetic information of about 15 million users, many of whom are concerned about where their genetic data may end up when the company is sold. While 23andMe has expressed that protecting their users’ privacy, there are not many safeguards in place that cover this kind of data. Additionally, 23andMe provides research companies with their users’ anonymized genetic data and were the victim of a massive data breach that affected almost 7 million users in 2023. For those that are concerned about their data, legal experts have released statements that they are well within their rights to request that their data be destroyed, including the initial saliva sample provided. Users can also revoke any permission that they may have given for their data to be used in research.
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