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Hacking DNA Datasets: Privacy & Security?

  • 11-06-2018 7:08am
    #1
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭


    DNA testing service MyHeritage revealed that hackers had breached 92 million of its accounts. MyHeritage claims that hackers only accessed encrypted emails and passwords. Why would this be troublesome?

    What if they also had accessed the DNA data for these 92 million accounts, including other identification information? You cannot change your DNA, unlike other account numbers (e.g., credit, debit, savings, checking, etc.). How would this impact on your privacy and security?

    What should be done to secure your DNA code from hackers, or is such hacking inevitable now or in the near future? How can you protect yourself? Is there some form of science that's popular and accessible to the common person that can safeguard from DNA hacking?

    Comments?


Comments

  • #2
    Capt'n Midnight
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Technology & Internet Moderators Posts: 90,657 Mod ✭✭✭✭Capt'n Midnight


    Biometrics should only be used to confirm identity, and only as a salted hash so the original information can never been accessed.

    Biometrics can only ever be used for Usernames, never for Passwords.


    The huge problem with biometrics they'd have to stay secure for a lifetime and computer hardware and algrithms are getting better all the time.

    The fastest computer can do a mind-blowing 1.88 quintillion calculations per second. "This is the first time anyone has broken the exascale barrier,"

    Or rather it's the fastest the public have been told about. It only cost $200m to build which is a drop in the ocean compared to the spend on the three letter agencies over the years.

    https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/trump-sends-congress-record-high-black-budget-spy-funding-request
    Details about the so-called “black budget” are slim, but Trump is requesting $59.9 billion for non-military intelligence agencies and $21.2 billion for military intelligence in fiscal 2019.




    I still think it's a shame that the old heel prick tests were destroyed. Had those results been anonomised we could have had very useful data about the prevelance of various genetic conditions to budget for treatment.

    But computerising those DNA samples with full details , nope , do not want.


  • #3
    gctest50
    Registered Users Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    23 & me got 300 million from Glaxo for data


  • #4
    Black Swan
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 47,223 CMod ✭✭✭✭Black Swan


    Capt'n Midnight wrote: »
    The huge problem with biometrics they'd have to stay secure for a lifetime and computer hardware and algrithms are getting better all the time.
    Indeed.


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