Hacker leaks millions more 23andMe user records on cybercrime forum

[ChrisR]

I hardly check the site anymore because there is no shared match tools and I haven't seen many new matches. Maybe people have been scared off.

Lack of functions for genetic genealogy as well as bad press/reputation is exactly what we do not want.
As Rufus191 already said careless coding and I would add low emphasis on security and privacy standards on the website is what does at least diminish enthusiasm also in us insiders.

[Riverman]

I hardly check the site anymore because there is no shared match tools and I haven't seen many new matches. Maybe people have been scared off.

Lack of functions for genetic genealogy as well as bad press/reputation is exactly what we do not want.
As Rufus191 already said careless coding and I would add low emphasis on security and privacy standards on the website is what does at least diminish enthusiasm also in us insiders.

A really big issue is their limitation of matches too. Just about 1.500 matches is not a lot by comparison. Genealogically, I learned the least from 23andMe from all the big 4 (AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FTDNA and 23andMe). A bit of chance of course, because some bigger, closer matches tested elsewhere. Sometimes the children had tested at 23andMe, but it was through their parents on other platforms I could make the connection.

[leonardo]

I hardly check the site anymore because there is no shared match tools and I haven't seen many new matches. Maybe people have been scared off.

Lack of functions for genetic genealogy as well as bad press/reputation is exactly what we do not want.
As Rufus191 already said careless coding and I would add low emphasis on security and privacy standards on the website is what does at least diminish enthusiasm also in us insiders.

A really big issue is their limitation of matches too. Just about 1.500 matches is not a lot by comparison. Genealogically, I learned the least from 23andMe from all the big 4 (AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, FTDNA and 23andMe). A bit of chance of course, because some bigger, closer matches tested elsewhere. Sometimes the children had tested at 23andMe, but it was through their parents on other platforms I could make the connection.

For me, the least matches came from Family Finder at FTDNA. That was my first autosomal test, as I had already tested my y-dna there and was familiar with the company. The only significant match i got in the early years there was a distant match to our own Michal Milewski. Then came 23andMe, which was a little better but led to no breakthroughs on my unknown pgf. It was actually Gedmatch that got me first insight. The match, a 4th cousin, had tested with Ancestry and contacted me through Gedmatch. After that, I tested with Ancestry and eventually broke down that genealogical brick wall.

[ArmandoR1b]

Without the 23andme shared match feature in addition to the lack of a tree for most profiles 23andme is now basically useless. I would steer away anyone contemplating getting 23andme and steer them towards AncestryDNA for autosomal matches and for an idea about their ethnic makeup that is more accurate than FTDNA and myHeritage. FTDNA Big Y-700 is still the best Y-DNA test since they have such a large database but the VCF should still be uploaded to YFull.

[boiler20100203]

Has anyone heard any more regarding 23andMe?

Like others have mentioned, I am not sure what use this company is any more, to me at least. I cannot see common matches or matching segments. I also feel like users are staying away - I've had 9 new matches in the last two months.

The site was already boarder line for me - I have 1 maternal line match here, from my Russian grandfather. Nothing from my French grandmother except her, my mom and cousin. At least Ancestry has trees even though they have monetized every service there.

[AimSmall]

Looking at their market valuation, not sure they're going to survive.

They're trading at $0.78/share. Valuation down -92.35% over last five years.

When they IPO'd, it was at $3.5 Billion.... they're now worth a meager $376 million.

If they're going to fix it and keep their customers like us, they best do it quickly!

[leonardo]

Has anyone heard any more regarding 23andMe?

Like others have mentioned, I am not sure what use this company is any more, to me at least. I cannot see common matches or matching segments. I also feel like users are staying away - I've had 9 new matches in the last two months.

The site was already boarder line for me - I have 1 maternal line match here, from my Russian grandfather. Nothing from my French grandmother except her, my mom and cousin. At least Ancestry has trees even though they have monetized every service there.

Don't know if they think the health aspect will keep people coming. While that may appeal to some, I would think the genealogical side has been their bread and butter and they aren't cutting it right now.

[Rufus191]

Looking at their market valuation, not sure they're going to survive.

They're trading at $0.78/share.  Valuation down -92.35% over last five years.

When they IPO'd, it was at $3.5 Billion.... they're now worth a meager $376 million.

If they're going to fix it and keep their customers like us, they best do it quickly!

There was a series on genealogical DNA companies on BBC Radio 4, The Gift. A bonus episode was made given the recent developments, and most commentators are not very impressed by 23andme's attitude to the data breach. They say nearly all, if not all companies that people use for medical data now like for your hospital, general practitioner etc. have insisted on two factor authentication for some time now. 23andme specifically marketed itself, not just as a genealogical product, but as a medical product. So why did they not follow the same security standards as all other medical providers? They think this point makes them very vulnerable to lawsuits made against 23andme by victims of the data breach

The Gift - Bonus episode
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gbkn4y

A recent interview with the 23andme CEO Susan Wojcicki (who tragically lost her son aged 19 last week)
https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-geno...-wojcicki/

Guardian journalist Alaina Demopoulos response to the interview
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2...ty-finance

[AimSmall]

I've yet to hear any claims by customers that they were compromised and were negatively impacted.

The only fallout I've heard is customers not having the original access to matches and the data.

[Mitchell-Atkins]

I’ve heard they’re using my data to create a secret clone army who’s sole purpose is to spam this site with tons of maps.

[pelop]

There was a series on genealogical DNA companies on BBC Radio 4, The Gift. A bonus episode was made given the recent developments, and most commentators are not very impressed by 23andme's attitude to the data breach. They say nearly all, if not all companies that people use for medical data now like for your hospital, general practitioner etc. have insisted on two factor authentication for some time now. 23andme specifically marketed itself, not just as a genealogical product, but as a medical product. So why did they not follow the same security standards as all other medical providers? They think this point makes them very vulnerable to lawsuits made against 23andme by victims of the data breach

The Gift - Bonus episode
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gbkn4y

A recent interview with the 23andme CEO Susan Wojcicki (who tragically lost her son aged 19 last week)
https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-geno...-wojcicki/

Guardian journalist Alaina Demopoulos response to the interview
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2...ty-finance

I'm not convinced that the hacking had much (if anything) to do with compromised login information on behalf of individual users, the big problem was that their API was exploitable. Some of the basic information that got leaked (name, ancestral places of origin, haplogroups) could be obtained in an unauthorised way and 23andme were aware of this fact long before the leaks.

I've yet to hear any claims by customers that they were compromised and were negatively impacted.

The only fallout I've heard is customers not having the original access to matches and the data.

Yes but this is obviously a direct consequence of the hacking. It's damage control and probably something advised by their legal team and/or security consultants. None of this would have happened if their security wasn't garbage in the first place.

[Ebizur]

A recent interview with the 23andme CEO Susan Wojcicki (who tragically lost her son aged 19 last week)
https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-geno...-wojcicki/

I apologize for nitpicking, but the CEO of 23andMe is Anne Wojcicki, who is a sister of Susan Wojcicki. Susan Wojcicki is a former CEO of YouTube, and she is the one whose son has died about one week ago. In other words, the CEO of 23andMe is Anne Wojcicki, and it is her nephew (rather than her son) who has recently passed away.

[okarinaofsteiner]

Update from 23andMe customer service employee as of 7 hours ago

Hi guys! It looks like we got a bit of an update when it comes to the raw data feature. From what I know so far, it seems that from now on customers will be required to use the profile date of birth to take action and access certain account information. This will include the download feature for raw data. They may have done this for additional security and privacy reasons. I don’t know the full details as of yet, and we’re unsure of what the other actions are, but they’ll update us again. They’re saying the download feature should be coming as early as today, so we’ll see!

[Rufus191]

A recent interview with the 23andme CEO Susan Wojcicki (who tragically lost her son aged 19 last week)
https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-geno...-wojcicki/

I apologize for nitpicking, but the CEO of 23andMe is Anne Wojcicki, who is a sister of Susan Wojcicki. Susan Wojcicki is a former CEO of YouTube, and she is the one whose son has died about one week ago. In other words, the CEO of 23andMe is Anne Wojcicki, and it is her nephew (rather than her son) who has recently passed away.

Ah, I hadn't realised there were two! Sorry for the confusion .

[Rufus191]

Update from 23andMe customer service employee as of 7 hours ago

Hi guys! It looks like we got a bit of an update when it comes to the raw data feature. From what I know so far, it seems that from now on customers will be required to use the profile date of birth to take action and access certain account information. This will include the download feature for raw data. They may have done this for additional security and privacy reasons. I don’t know the full details as of yet, and we’re unsure of what the other actions are, but they’ll update us again. They’re saying the download feature should be coming as early as today, so we’ll see!

https://np.reddit.com/r/23andme/comments..._and_they/

RAW DATA UPDATE: I just called 23andme and they said the feature to download genetic raw data should now be available by the end of NEXT week, NOT this week