Protect your genetic data: Urgent steps after 23andMe bankruptcy

The familial investigating institution 23andMe, erstwhile a pioneer successful user DNA testing, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid fiscal struggles, a enactment shakeup and increasing concerns astir the information of its customers' familial data. Let's instrumentality a look astatine the implications of this improvement and immoderate steps to safeguard your delicate information.

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23andMe saliva postulation kit (23andMe) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

The autumn of 23andMe: A timeline of challenges

23andMe's travel from a $6 cardinal valuation successful 2021 to bankruptcy successful 2025 has been marked by important hurdles.

• Data breach successful 2023: A cyberattack compromised the familial and idiosyncratic information of astir 7 cardinal users, starring to lawsuits and reputational damage.
• Leadership reshuffle: CEO Anne Wojcicki resigned arsenic portion of the bankruptcy announcement, positioning herself arsenic a imaginable purchaser of the company.
• Financial decline: The company’s banal plummeted from implicit $300 per stock to little than $1, reflecting its deteriorating fiscal health.
• Workforce reductions: In November 2024, 23andMe laid disconnected 40% of its employees arsenic portion of restructuring efforts.
• Bankruptcy filing and merchantability process: On March 23, 2025, 23andMe initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to facilitate a merchantability process aimed astatine maximizing the worth of its business. The institution intends to proceed its mean operations passim this process and has emphasized that determination volition beryllium nary changes to however lawsuit information is stored, managed oregon protected.

Despite these challenges, the institution has stated that its bankruptcy filing volition not impact however it manages oregon protects lawsuit data. However, concerns stay astir the imaginable merchantability of its assets, including delicate familial information.

23andMe saliva postulation kit (23andMe) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

23andMe committee seeks to maximize worth done a court-supervised sale

"After a thorough valuation of strategical alternatives, we person determined that a court-supervised merchantability process is the champion way guardant to maximize the worth of the business," said Mark Jensen, seat and subordinate of the peculiar committee of the committee of directors of 23andMe. "We expect the court-supervised process volition beforehand our efforts to code the operational and fiscal challenges we face, including further outgo reductions and the solution of ineligible and leasehold liabilities. We judge successful the worth of our radical and our assets and anticipation that this process allows our ngo of helping radical access, recognize and payment from the quality genome to unrecorded connected for the payment of customers and patients."

Jensen continued, "We privation to convey our employees for their dedication to 23andMe’s mission. We are committed to supporting them arsenic we determination done the process. In addition, we are committed to continuing to safeguard lawsuit information and being transparent astir the absorption of idiosyncratic information going forward, and information privateness volition beryllium an important information successful immoderate imaginable transaction."

23andMe saliva postulation kit (23andMe) (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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What happens to your familial information during bankruptcy?

When a institution similar 23andMe files for bankruptcy, its assets, including lawsuit data, tin go portion of the merchantability process. While privateness laws successful immoderate states, specified as California's Genetic Information Privacy Act, necessitate explicit consent earlier transferring familial information to a caller owner, the hazard of misuse oregon unauthorized entree remains.

23andMe has assured customers that immoderate purchaser volition beryllium required to comply with applicable privateness laws. However, familial information is simply a invaluable plus that could beryllium exploited if not adequately safeguarded.

Additionally, lone a week and a fractional ago, 23andMe updated their presumption and conditions, which I've reviewed. They've added an important ineligible disclosure that could forestall an idiosyncratic from filing a suit with expectations of a tribunal trial. Instead, unless you opt retired by notifying 23andme wrong 30 days of archetypal use, you are automatically bound to the caller presumption that unit parties into an arbitration way for immoderate ineligible remedies that could originate present oregon successful the future.

I powerfully impulse you to support your rights by emailing [email protected] with a wide notification that you mean to opt retired of arbitration. Make definite to usage the email code associated with your 23andme account. That would beryllium the archetypal happening you should bash successful my adjacent steps that you whitethorn privation to instrumentality to support your rights and privateness now.

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Steps to support your familial data

If you’re a 23andMe idiosyncratic oregon considering utilizing akin services, present are steps you tin instrumentality to support your delicate accusation and safeguard your information from imaginable misuse oregon theft.

1) Opt retired of arbitration: If you privation to clasp your close to writer the institution successful lawsuit of aboriginal issues, opt retired of arbitration agreements by emailing your notification to opt retired of arbitration [email protected] wrong 30 days of archetypal use.

2) Review privateness preferences: Regularly cheque your privateness and data-sharing settings to guarantee they align with your comfortableness level.

3) Limit probe participation: Disable information successful probe oregon merchandise improvement initiatives if you’re acrophobic astir however your information mightiness beryllium used.

4) Download and unafraid your data: Before considering relationship deletion, download your familial grounds and store it securely connected an encrypted instrumentality oregon unreality service.

5) Request information deletion: If you nary longer privation for your information to beryllium stored by 23andMe, petition its deletion done your relationship settings. Ensure you besides inquire for the demolition of immoderate carnal samples.

6) Use beardown passwords and multifactor authentication: Creating unique, analyzable passwords for each of your accounts and devices is essential. Avoid reusing passwords crossed aggregate accounts; this benignant of password reuse was a origin successful the recent 23andMe information breach. Enable two-factor authentication wherever it’s offered to adhd an other furniture of information that helps forestall unauthorized entree adjacent if your password is compromised. Check retired my champion expert-reviewed password managers for 2025 here.

7) Monitor for suspicious enactment and usage individuality theft protection: Genetic information leaks tin pb to individuality theft oregon aesculapian fraud. Consider signing up for an individuality theft extortion work that monitors idiosyncratic information, specified arsenic your Social Security number, telephone fig and email, alerting you if this information is recovered connected the acheronian web. Some individuality theft services besides see up to $1 cardinal successful individuality theft security to screen losses and ineligible fees and a dedicated fraud solution squad with a U.S.-based lawsuit manager to assistance you retrieve immoderate stolen assets oregon identity. See my adept recommendations here: Best individuality theft extortion services for 2025 here.

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Kurt's cardinal takeaways

The bankruptcy of 23andMe serves arsenic a cautionary communicative astir the risks associated with sharing delicate familial information. While the institution has pledged to support its privateness standards during this turbulent period, consumers indispensable stay vigilant. By taking power of your information now, whether done enhanced privateness settings oregon deletion, you tin amended support yourself against imaginable misuse successful uncertain times.

Do you deliberation familial investigating companies are doing capable to support your information successful the look of fiscal instability and imaginable bankruptcy? Let america cognize by penning america at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For much of my tech tips and information alerts, subscribe to my escaped CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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