DNA testing has been a tool of law enforcement for decades now along with a database for comparison of those in the database with the limitation that they are only allowed to look at genetic identification markers. In the consumer sphere of voluntarily submitting DNA for analysis, it opens a new realm of questions about how far should we be allowed to go and what should be done to protect privacy and the security of the data, as Rizkallah describes in “Hacking Humans: Protecting Our DNA from Cybercriminals”. Do the benefits of DNA digitization outweigh the security risks? It’s true that DNA is unique and immutable, but if there were a breach in the security holding the DNA data, what can that information reasonably be used for? As technology currently stands, having someone’s genetic code, while sounding dangerous and invasive, doesn’t have many practical applications that couldn’t be achieved otherwise. Until technology advances to the point of using DNA as identifying means in common places or genetic testing becomes available and accessible beyond specialized labs, the benefits will outweigh the risks.
Rizkallah raises the question where to “draw the line” in regards to privacy and the sharing of DNA, for example, would it be okay for an employer to request your DNA to see if you are fit for a job. The answer to both of those questions is as simple and straightforward as if an employer were to ask for your medical history or a picture of yourself on an application, of course it’s not. There are laws protecting applicants from discrimination in the workplace and those same laws should also cover DNA due to the medication and biological information that can be obtained by testing DNA. Where would the line be drawn to decide what genetic markers make someone “fit” for one job and not another? How would medical conditions that can be found by testing DNA influence the decision about whether someone is fit or not? If employer were allowed to request DNA from applicants, it would just be another way to get around laws prohibiting discrimination based on how someone looks, what disabilities they could have, or what gender they are, all of which can be determined by DNA testing.
The human factor of security goes both ways. For every system and security that is made, there will ways be someone who can be caught up in scams meant to compromise that security. Likewise, for every security and system made to limit the human factor, there will always be someone who figures out how to play the system and outsmart it. This remains true even for something as immutable as biological data. We already see this in the usage of biometrics such as fingerprint or retinal scans, though harder to beat, it is not impossible.
Read “Hacking Humans: Protecting Our DNA from Cybercriminals” here: