23andMe Data Breach: Hackers Steal Ancestry Information of 6.9 Million Users
Genetic testing company 23andMe confirmed that hackers accessed the personal data of 6.9 million users, significantly more than the 14,000 individuals initially reported. The stolen data included names, birth years, relationship labels, DNA shared with relatives, ancestry reports, and self-reported locations. The breach affected users who opted-in to 23andMe's DNA Relatives feature, allowing automatic data sharing. The company attributed the breach to customers reusing passwords, which enabled hackers to brute-force their accounts. The hackers were able to access both the account holder's data and their relatives' information due to the way the DNA Relatives feature matches users, magnifying the number of victims.
