Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Friday November 08 2019, @12:29AM   Printer-friendly
from the thin-end-of-the-wedge dept.

Submitted via IRC for soylent_red

US court let police search GEDmatch's entire DNA database despite protections

Michael Fields, a detective from the Orlando Police Department, has revealed at a police convention that he secured a warrant to search the full GEDmatch database with over a million users. Legal experts told The New York Times that this appears to be the first time a judge has approved this kind of warrant. New York University law professor Erin Murphy even told the publication that the warrant is a "huge game-changer," seeing as GEDmatch restricted cops' access to its database last year. "It's a signal that no genetic information can be safe," the professor said.

[...] More importantly, its new policy only allows authorities to search for GEDmatch users who make their information available to the police. Users literally have to opt in -- their profiles are set to opt out by default. Company co-founder Curtis Rogers said only 185,000 users chose to opt in, but Fields' warrant allowed him to access all 1.3 million users' information. The detective said the service complied with the warrant within 24 hours, and while he hasn't made an arrest yet, he has already found some leads.

DNA policy experts are now worried that this development will encourage law enforcement to secure warrants for much larger databases. GEDmatch is smaller than its peers, since it doesn't offer its own testing kits: users have to upload their own DNA information in order to find relatives through its website.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by EvilSS on Friday November 08 2019, @01:04AM (2 children)

    by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Friday November 08 2019, @01:04AM (#917668)

    If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. If you do have something to hide, then you need to make sure your DNA isn't on file anywhere, defy any lawful subpoenas and intimidate potential witnesses to keep their traps shut -- or else.

    Problem here is, you don't have to be the one sharing your DNA. They are using familial matching. So if someone in your family (brother, sister, cousin, etc) shares their DNA, they can use it to narrow in on you.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @01:12AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @01:12AM (#917676)

    IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE THEN THAT'S A PROBLEM!

    NO ENCRYPTION!
    DNA TESTING/PERPETUAL STORAGE FOR EVERY HUMAN AVAILABLE TO ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT WITHOUT WARRANTS!
    BAN COMPUTER/PHONE LOCKING MECHANISMS!
    REQUIRE ALL DEVICES TO STREAM ALL DATA TO DESIGNATED LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUPS!
    STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT THE USE OF CAPITAL LETTERS!

    IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR!

    MAKE EXCLAMATION POINTS SEXY AGAIN!!!!

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @09:00AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 08 2019, @09:00AM (#917812)

    Or, as in the case of the Golden State killer, multiple familial matches 4th removed. The persons sharing "your" DNA may be people you have never even met.