23andMe fined millions by UK watchdog over 'profoundly damaging' cyber attack

The familial investigating institution 23andMe is being fined £2.31m by the UK's privateness watchdog implicit their 2023 information breach that saw the idiosyncratic accusation of 7 cardinal radical stolen.

More than 150,000 Britons had their idiosyncratic accusation taken by hackers. Family trees, wellness reports, contention and ethnicity accusation whitethorn each person been stolen, on with addresses, dates of commencement and illustration pictures.

A database shared connected acheronian web forums and viewed by Sky News' US spouse network, NBC News, contained a database of 999,999 radical who allegedly had Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, according to 23andMe's familial profiling.

"Crazy. This could beryllium utilized by Nazis," said 1 idiosyncratic astatine the clip who appeared successful the database.

The ICO's good comes aft a joint probe with Canada's privateness watchdog.

It is the astir terrible punishment the watchdog tin enforce and reflects repeated failures to support highly delicate data, according to the accusation commissioner.

"This was a profoundly damaging breach that exposed delicate idiosyncratic information, household histories, and adjacent wellness conditions of thousands of radical successful the UK," said John Edwards, the UK's Information Commissioner.

"23andMe failed to instrumentality basal steps to support this information.

"Their information systems were inadequate, the informing signs were there, and the institution was dilatory to respond. This near people's astir delicate information susceptible to exploitation and harm."

Despite the onslaught starting successful April 2023, 23andMe did not unfastened an probe until October that year, erstwhile an worker discovered the stolen information had been advertised for merchantability connected Reddit.

The company's defences lone became beardown capable to halt the onslaught by the extremity of that twelvemonth - but that was not the extremity of 23andMe's troubles.

'Sue you to oblivion'

By March this year, the best-known familial investigating institution successful the satellite had filed for bankruptcy, incapable to rebuild spot aft the hack and marque capable wealth from its concern model.

It volition present beryllium sold for $305m (£225m) to 23andMe's archetypal co-founder, Anne Wojcicki and her non-profit TTAM.

But a blistering speech successful the US Senate past week laid retired caller concerns for the delicate information users person shared with 23andMe.

Senator Josh Hawley accused Joseph Selsavage, the interim main enforcement of 23andMe, of lying to his customers erstwhile helium says they tin delete their familial information from the company's databases.

"You're not deleting it," helium said, "because if you were, your institution wouldn't beryllium worthy $300m."

"I anticipation [users] volition unreserved to the courthouse [...] to writer you into oblivion."

Mr Selsavage denied Senator Hawley's claims, saying his institution deletes each idiosyncratic information erstwhile requested.

James Moss, the manager of cyber investigations astatine instrumentality steadfast Addleshaw Goddard, told Sky News the ICO's good was "about arsenic superior arsenic it gets" but an enforcement order, a announcement from the watchdog that dictates however information tin beryllium utilized successful the future, would beryllium "more important".

"That's the announcement which looks guardant and says, 'look, you person a ineligible work nether UK instrumentality to proceed to support the idiosyncratic information of these 150,000 UK citizens'. And that's arguably the much important," helium said.

A full of 28 US attorneys wide past week launched a ineligible lawsuit against 23andMe to support idiosyncratic information during the sale, and urged customers to purge their accusation from the firm's database, fixed the sensitivity of the information it has collected implicit the years.

23andMe already sells its users' familial information and has made astatine slightest 30 deals with biotech and pharmaceutical companies similar GSK.

A spokesperson for the 23andMe buyer, TTAM, told Sky News the non-profit had made "several binding commitments to heighten protections for lawsuit information and privacy".

These see allowing individuals to delete their relationship and opt retired of probe astatine immoderate time, notifying customers astatine slightest 2 days earlier the woody closes astir what TTAM's acquisition means for them and agreeing, if TTAM were to merchantability the institution again, lone to merchantability it to idiosyncratic who agrees to follow TTAM's privateness polices and comply with information laws.

Customers volition besides beryllium offered 2 years of escaped Experian individuality theft monitoring, portion TTAM volition proceed to let "de-identified data" to beryllium utilized for technological and biomedical probe astatine universities and nonprofits.

No wealth for UK victims

The £2.31m good wealth volition spell to the authorities alternatively than to individuals affected by the hack.

In the US, victims of the hack won $30m successful a people enactment suit past year, but that's not an enactment successful the UK, contempt the incredibly delicate accusation that was shared.

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Class enactment lawsuits for information breaches could "improve and summation accountability for data-protection breaches", according to solicitor Alex Lawrence Archer from the information instrumentality bureau AWO.

"But besides assistance individuals who are affected get thing back, assistance them get redress, due to the fact that a good paid to the ICO doesn't execute that. Although [the fine] is welcome, it doesn't assistance individuals."

For anyone reasoning astir utilizing 1 of the galore familial investigating companies that person sprung up since 23andMe was founded successful 2006, Mr Lawrence Archer has cautionary advice.

"Handing implicit your familial information is simply a truly large step, and it's thing that [...] radical person hitherto been encouraged to instrumentality rather lightly," helium said.

"There's nary hard and accelerated regularisation similar you should oregon you shouldn't bash it, but it's thing that you should deliberation truly cautiously about.

"It tin beryllium a rather imperishable measurement that's precise hard to undo. It's not thing that should beryllium done lightly."

23andMe has been contacted for comment.