Re:Relative's DNA from genealogy websites cracked East Area ...
by prawn on Friday April 27, 2018 @12:16AM
(#16938418)
A nefarious genetic catalogue company could offer a bounty for people submitting DNA samples and identities.
Re:Relative's DNA from genealogy websites cracked East Area ...
by fixermark on Friday April 27, 2018 @09:51AM
(#16940749)
To be useful, they'd of course need a solution for verifying authenticity of the input data. Otherwise, it's just noise and we already have historical examples of that design failing (such as "informants" handing over people to the US as terror suspects).
Re:Relative's DNA from genealogy websites cracked East Area ...
by reaperducer on Friday April 27, 2018 @01:18PM
(#16942473)
>A nefarious genetic catalogue company
Or simply Facebook. Imagine the improvement in advertising accuracy if it could use your DNA as a unique key in its database. Match
In practical terms, I'm sure it's against the ToS but really the service providers have no way of knowing unless the person has already submitted their DNA and your submission raises a red flag, thus cutting you off from the information you desire. This is interesting from a game-theoretic standpoint in that it might be more secure to give your information to every website and then be the designated owner, but it probably wouldn't shield you from law enforcement getting the same information via subpoena. It's an uphill argument to say that a general right of privacy weighs heavier than the unsolved cases of 10 murders and 50 rapes, a record which will probably be broken again in future.
I don't think DNA testing companies have much incentive to screen potential customers since each person can only submit DNA once without raising another red flag.