In the article Hacking Humans: Protecting Our DNA From Cybercriminals by Juliette Rizkallah it
talks about the cyber risk of customer based DNA testing services. These services have data of
all customers’ DNA storing them in a database. Giving hackers access to this can be worse than
giving out your social security number. Posing a huge risk to anyone that has done this service.
Our DNA is permanent and can never be changed. It’s not like a social or credit card; this is
something that makes us who we are. For criminals to get access to this even though they have
not found a way to gain from this it is concerning. In the article she asks where we draw
the line, I feel that I would never use these types of DNA services for this exact reason. With
how advanced modern medicine is and knowing that the field will only continue to grow there
are endless possibilities what they can do with that information. The same way we use
fingerprints or facial recognition, that is what we are. Imagine a criminal being able to make
copies of your DNA and using that to frame you for a crime. That would be evidence for law
enforcement and now you are going to jail for a crime you didn’t commit. I strongly advise
anyone to not use these services. No matter how secure the database is, it can be hacked. The
problem is no one will see there is an issue with these types of services until it is too late.