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fliptop writes:

Facing more than 30 lawsuits from victims of its massive data breach, 23andMe is now deflecting the blame to the victims themselves in an attempt to absolve itself from any responsibility, according to a letter sent to a group of victims seen by TechCrunch:

"Rather than acknowledge its role in this data security disaster, 23andMe has apparently decided to leave its customers out to dry while downplaying the seriousness of these events," Hassan Zavareei, one of the lawyers representing the victims who received the letter from 23andMe, told TechCrunch in an email.

[...] But in a letter sent to a group of hundreds of 23andMe users who are now suing the company, 23andMe said that "users negligently recycled and failed to update their passwords following these past security incidents, which are unrelated to 23andMe."

"Therefore, the incident was not a result of 23andMe's alleged failure to maintain reasonable security measures," the letter reads.

Zavareei said that 23andMe is "shamelessly" blaming the victims of the data breach.

"This finger pointing is nonsensical. 23andMe knew or should have known that many consumers use recycled passwords and thus that 23andMe should have implemented some of the many safeguards available to protect against credential stuffing — especially considering that 23andMe stores personal identifying information, health information, and genetic information on its platform," Zavareei said in an email.

"The breach impacted millions of consumers whose data was exposed through the DNA Relatives feature on 23andMe's platform, not because they used recycled passwords. Of those millions, only a few thousand accounts were compromised due to credential stuffing. 23andMe's attempt to shirk responsibility by blaming its customers does nothing for these millions of consumers whose data was compromised through no fault of their own whatsoever," said Zavareei.

Previously:

• 23andMe: Profiles of 6.9 Million People Hacked
• 23andMe Says Private User Data is Up for Sale After Being Scraped

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Hackers have been able to gain access to personal information from about 6.9 million users of genetic testing company 23andMe, using customers' old passwords:

In some cases this included family trees, birth years and geographic locations, the company said.

After weeks of speculation the firm has put a number on the breach, with more than half of its customers affected.

The stolen data does not include DNA records.

[...] As was first reported by Tech Crunch, the company has acknowledged that by accessing those accounts, hackers were then able to find their way into "a significant number of files containing profile information about other users' ancestry".

The criminals downloaded not just the data from those accounts but the private information of all other users they had links to across the sprawling family trees on the website.

The stolen data includes information like names, how each person is linked and in some cases birth years, locations, pictures, addresses and the percentage of DNA shared with relatives.

I'm with Bill Burr on this.

See also: 23andMe Says Private User Data is Up for Sale After Being Scraped

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Genetic information and ancestry reports of U.S. citizens were among the information stolen in the cyber attack:

23andMe proposes to compensate millions of customers affected by a data breach on the company's platform, offering $30 million as part of the settlement, along with providing users access to a security monitoring system.

The genetic testing service will pay the amount to approximately 6.4 million American users, according to a proposed class action settlement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on Sept. 12. Personal information was exposed last year after a hacker breached the website's security and posted critical user data for sale on the dark web.

[...] According to the settlement proposal, users will be sent a link where they can delete all information related to 23andMe.

[...] In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, 23andMe Communications Director Andy Kill said that out of the $30 million aggregate amount, "roughly $25 million of the settlement and related legal expenses are expected to be covered by cyber insurance coverage."

Also at USA Today, Fox Business and The Verge.

Previously:

• 23andMe Tells Victims it's Their Fault that Their Data was Breached
• 23andMe: Profiles of 6.9 Million People Hacked
• 23andMe Says Private User Data is Up for Sale After Being Scraped

Original Submission

fliptop writes:

Since it was founded nearly two decades ago, 23andMe has grown into one of the largest biotechnology companies in the world. Millions of people have used its simple genetic testing service, which involves ordering a saliva test, spitting into a tube, and sending it back to the company for a detailed DNA analysis.

But now the company is on the brink of bankruptcy. This has raised concerns about what will happen to the troves of genetic data it has in its possession.

The company's chief executive, Anne Wojcicki, has said she is committed to customer privacy and will "maintain our current privacy policy".

But what can customers of 23andMe themselves do to make sure their highly personal genetic data is protected? And should we be concerned about other companies that also collect our DNA?

[...] 23andMe has had a rapid downfall after the 2021 high of its public listing.

Its value has dropped more than 97%. In 2023, it suffered a major data breach affecting almost seven million users and settled a class action lawsuit for US$30 million.

Last month its seven independent directors resigned amid news the original founder is planning to take the company private once more. The company has never made a profit and is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy.

What this might mean for its vast stores of genetic data is unclear.

Previously:

• 23andMe Proposes $30 Million Payment for Data Breach
• 23andMe Tells Victims it's Their Fault that Their Data was Breached
• 23andMe: Profiles of 6.9 Million People Hacked
• 23andMe Says Private User Data is Up for Sale After Being Scraped

Original Submission