This is part 1 of a science fiction/technology/know your rights series of blog posts. The following is a true story. For this post I want you to use your creativity and write a paragraph about what you think happens to Sarah next. It can be anything you want based upon the information you now have about Sarah.
Sarah hovered over the mailbox, envelope in hand. She knew as soon as she mailed off her DNA sample, there’d be no turning back. She ran through the information she looked up on 23andMe’s website one more time: the privacy policy, the research parameters, the option to learn about potential health risks, the warning that the findings could have a dramatic impact on her life.
She paused, instinctively retracting her arm from the mailbox opening. Would she live to regret this choice? What could she learn about her family, herself that she may not want to know? How safe did she really feel giving her genetic information away to be studied, shared with others, or even experimented with?
Thinking back to her sign-up experience, Sarah suddenly worried about the massive amount of personally identifiable information she already handed over to the company. With a background in IT, she knew what a juicy target hers and other customers’ data would be for a potential hacker. Realistically, how safe was her data from a potential breach? She tried to recall the specifics of the EULA (end-user license agreement), but the wall of legalese text melted before her memory.
Pivoting on her heel, Sarah began to turn away from the mailbox when she remembered just why she wanted to sign up for genetic testing in the first place. She was compelled to learn about her own health history after finding out she had a rare genetic disorder, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and wanted to present her DNA for the purpose of further research. In addition, she was on a mission to find her mother’s father. She had a vague idea of who he was, but no clue how to track him down, and believed DNA testing could lead her in the right direction.
Sarah closed her eyes and pictured her mother’s face when she told her she found her dad. With renewed conviction, she dropped the envelope in the mailbox. It was done.
What happens n3xt?
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/101/2018/11/dna-testing-kit-companies-really-data/
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ReplyDeleteSarah stepped away from the mailbox and thought about what she had just done. There was no going back. She went back to her house and tried to think of the good the DNA test would bring. A few weeks later, she got her results. Sarah went to the mailbox to receive her data. She went into her house and sat down on her couch with the TV on in the background. As she was opening it, the news reporter announced that 23andMe's data bank had been hacked. Thousands of peoples' DNA had been stolen. According to the report, the people who stole the DNA was a terrorist group trying to steal American's information to try to use to get into the country under the radar. They would try to use the stolen DNA to disguise themselves with a fake identity, just in case they got caught. They would completely disguise themselves as the person whose DNA they stole. They could leave it at scenes to frame the person. Sarah was shocked and scared. She couldn't believe that her DNA could have been stolen to help terrorists get into her country. She totally forgot about her results and went to the computer immediately to see what information she could get on the whole matter. However, she first checked her email and got a shocking message. Swiss Air had sent her an email saying they hoped she enjoyed her flight. Sarah had not left the country in three months.
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ReplyDeleteAbout a fortnight later, I opened my mailbox and I found an envelope from 23andMe. I nearly dropped all the other mail that I had gotten once I saw it. I ran back into my house and opened the envelope. The contents of the letter shocked me. I learned that every other generation on my mother's side gets the disease, so that meant that my grandfather had it, as well. I looked for pictures of him on the website when I put in the link. There were only two pictures of him: one from when he was a teenager and one that seemed very current. He was aged by 50 years, and he seemed very happy. Below was his current name, and it was not what it was before. It also revealed that he was a retired police officer in Annapolis. Longing to find him, she put down that she wanted permission to contact him, and waited.
ReplyDeleteSarah received her information from 23andMe and she found out about her genetic disorder and how rare it actually is. She found out how to deal with her disease from the information that was sent to her. She also found a relative of her mom's father. She looked them up and contacted them. They exchanged numbers and eventually met each other. Sarah was very pleased that she submitted her information. But she didn't know what actually was going on. 23andMe sent her information to the government and now they know who she is related to and her health conditions. Even though it's an invasion of privacy, there are no laws against it.
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