Reading the article was interesting I felt much like the writer initially but as I continued to analyze it further, I was able to reflect on just how much I have provided others my DNA. I thought back to a time I went for a job interview and had to complete mouth swab for a drug test. Suppose that company got hacked and my information was stolen or lost? What if an organization got hacked and lost all traces my DNA? All these questions crossed my mind while reading this segment.
Whether it is securing a company or storing DNA, all implications are the same in hopes to protect the consumer. We do not speak about Cyberbiosecurity as often as we do Cybersecurity, but both is equally substantial and extremely critical because cyber criminals could be seeking to manipulate any database. The question posed in the article is should we be converting our personal DNA by digitizing it? After gaining more information on this topic I do not think so. I feel this way because we as people have no proof of security within these organizations responsible for securing DNA.
Although I understand there are resources that require certain circumstances for DNA identity purposes but if this step must be done it should be disposed of effectively and visibly by the person of whom the DNA belongs too. We should be responsible for the caretaking of sensitive personal data to ensure that all steps are done properly because it is the safer thing to do. This is something to think about, we as individuals never consider the technology or the extensive amount of research needed to find such detailed information.
How do we know that our DNA is safely protected in a database at hours of the day? Does this organization hold a strong security system to defend all individual accounts? Having that information stored in the cloud database of an organization is necessary but how safe is it? For example, if 23andMe had a data breech, things that might be affected could be identity, addresses, family member information, these attacks can make an organization vulnerable.
Concluding the writer’s thoughts, I agree that our DNA should be limited to others. Technology is steadily advancing, so how much more personal information does one need provide to gain clarity on an identity. These are important questions to ask ourselves because people have careers in hacking which is why this topic is so critical. Although we cannot stop these hackers, attacks or outside sources always it is important to be knowledgeable so that we know the steps to at least get in front of the issue.