Post AaYSNytYbBo9snuNea by mathew@universeodon.com
 (DIR) More posts by mathew@universeodon.com
 (DIR) Post #AaVjXsv8z8M7gvoTrs by rvawonk@newsie.social
       2023-10-07T00:56:55Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       Genetic testing company 23AndMe confirmed that it suffered a data breach in what appears to be a targeted attack on Jews & Chinese people. Hackers have put up for sale 1 million data points about Ashkenazi Jews, plus hundreds of thousands of Chinese users.The breach allegedly includes celebrities like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Sergey Brin. #cybersecurity #databreach #23andme https://www.wired.com/story/23andme-credential-stuffing-data-stolen/
       
 (DIR) Post #AaVjXu1Cu4nf61epxQ by rvawonk@newsie.social
       2023-10-07T00:59:48Z
       
       2 likes, 1 repeats
       
       This follows several years of warnings about the potential vulnerabilities and risks associated with direct to consumer genetic testing companies like #23andme. In 2019, for example, the Pentagon sounded the alarm over home DNA kits, citing concerns that "outside parties are exploiting the use of genetic materials for questionable purposes," including mass surveillance & unauthorized tracking.https://www.nbcnews.com/news/military/pentagon-tells-military-personnel-not-use-home-dna-kits-n1106761
       
 (DIR) Post #AaWdbKIZFKksu6zGaG by Suiseiseki@freesoftwareextremist.com
       2023-10-07T11:32:50.038485Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @rvawonk People sadly never listen no matter how much you warn them.The problem with genetic testing is that you don't have to be tested yourself to be impacted - if any of your family members were/are foolish enough to pay to hand over their genetic material for sequencing, you're gone as well, as your genetics are fairly close to theirs.
       
 (DIR) Post #AaYSNuTB3KKW9pXFyq by holyramenempire@kolektiva.social
       2023-10-07T14:00:40Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @rvawonk Could anyone tell me what the actual risk of this is? I wouldn't think it would affect people unless they're "secretly" Jewish (or "secretly" Chinese). Targeting people by genome doesn't seem to make a ton of sense, but releasing information to make Jewish and Chinese people feel terror does make sense. So refusing to be afraid seems like the best play based on the information I have.
       
 (DIR) Post #AaYSNvIZyDRkjFaJ6G by MagentaRocks@mastodon.coffee
       2023-10-07T14:24:04Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @holyramenempire @rvawonk Targeted biological weapons development perhaps?
       
 (DIR) Post #AaYSNvYszaUTXpDKW8 by holyramenempire@kolektiva.social
       2023-10-07T14:20:28Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       (and I say this as someone who was quite surprised to find Guangzhou-area family on his DNA test, and my partner is Ashkenazi, so it's not a random hypothetical, it's a real question)
       
 (DIR) Post #AaYSNwvFvtyjlUgi1Y by mathew@universeodon.com
       2023-10-07T14:37:11Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       @MagentaRocks @holyramenempire @rvawonk South Africa tried race-targeted bioweapons development for decades without much success. The problem is that racial genome differences are tiny compared to the natural variation in a population of a given race. (Which in turn is because race is an invented category based on perceptions, with no scientific validity.)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12019240/
       
 (DIR) Post #AaYSNytYbBo9snuNea by mathew@universeodon.com
       2023-10-07T14:39:41Z
       
       0 likes, 0 repeats
       
       @rvawonk @holyramenempire @MagentaRocks That said, the technology is so much more advanced now, what with CRISPR and the like, so there’s a definite non-zero risk.