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/
After she puts her DNA sample in the mailbox, she will find out what her ancestry is and where her family ils from after a few weeks of waiting for the results. If her grandfather has done a DNA test, she will be told by 23andMe that a relative of hers has done the test and she could potentially get in contact with her long lost grandfather.
ReplyDeleteSarah recieves her results back and finds out who the father is because suprisingly he has also taken a commercial Data sample to find out who his daughter is. Sarah was scard of her privacy being taken advantage for but there isn't much of a risk for her having to share her information. She has no idea what the government now can do with that information. She was legitimately interested in her genealogical background. Her DNA test results might have been slighly askew but she had found out what she wanted.Sarah invites her mother's father over for dinner.
ReplyDeleteSarah waited patiently for months to get her DNA test back. She was eager to find out about her syndrome and also find her mother's father in the process. It turned out that her grandfather lives across the country in Arizona. She decided to purchase two plane tickets to Arizona and surprise her mother with the trip. She was content about finding information about her mother's father but was unhappy when she didn't see any paperwork talking about her syndrome. Sarah was upset but she wasn't going to let it bring her down because now she has an excuse to visit Arizona with her mom.
ReplyDeleteAfter several weeks of waiting for results, Sarah was wondering why it was taking so long for them to get back to her. She received an email only a couple of days later. When she opened it, it read "Dear Sarah, your DNA sample has not yet been sent to our special DNA testing lab. Please notify us if you are not going to continue with this process. Thank You, 23andMe." Sarah was very confused. She began to panic at the thought of them not receiving her sample. She began to worry and think "What if someone stold my DNA? What is going to happen if that gets into the wrong hands? I knew I shouldn't have sent that in!" Sarah immediately emailed them back explaining how she had mailed them several weeks ago and awaited for a response from 23andMe.
ReplyDeleteFor weeks, Sarah waited anxiously for a letter back from 23andMe. Everytime, the mailman came she ran up to him and asked him if he had any mail for her. But, there was nothing but bills and magazines. Until, one day Sarah was coming home from the gym and checked the mailbox. As soon as Sarah opened the mailbox, she froze. It was a white envelope that said 23andMe in the upper right hand corner. Sarah ran into her house and sat on her bed to let all this mystery and anxiousness off her chest. She ripped open the envelope and read the letter. Sarah couldn't believe what she was reading. It turned out that Sarah sent her DNA to a website called,"23AndM3" not "23AndMe". She was spoofed! A stranger had all of her information: her address, full name, her DNA, her family's names and so much more! Sarah started crying. This anonymous person said that they would share her information with other hackers if she didn't pay a $10,000 ransom. Now, she couldn't find her mother's father or about her rare disease. All hope was lost! Also, the anonymous person said that they would harm her family if she went to the police. Sarah was lost for words! There was nothing she could do except pay the money, which she didn't even have! She couldn't even buy her own life back! Sarah's life was over!
ReplyDeleteShe felt relieved of the pressure taken off her chest, deciding not to think about it for the moment. About a week later, she started having doubts and started to regret her decision. Why would she willingly send her DNA to a company whom she knows will not just throw away her information after testing? What if her mother thought she wasted her time trying to find him? These thoughts continued to haunt her for the next week.
ReplyDeleteToday was the day. Sarah would finally get her test results back. She was nervous, of course, she would finally find out who her grandfather is. She didn't know who he was, but she had a vague image of what he looked like, although it could be wrong. Her mother never talked about her grandfather before, only that she looked sad whenever Sarah brought him up.
She went on the website, seeing her results already on the page, she started lightly shaking in both nervousness and excitement. She could finally find out who her mother's father was, hoping for the smile to spread on her mother's face when she told her. She quickly skimmed through her results until she got to the section about her ancestors. She looked through the results, finding all the ancestors that she knew, her mother, father, grandmother, cousins, all accurately told by a single saliva sample. When she saw the name of her grandfather, her heart leaped, she finally found him! Sadly, he had passed away a long time ago. But when Sarah told her mother about her father, showing her the picture, her mother cried. She smiled and thanked Sarah for finding the man she gave up on looking for. Sarah thought that although she knew that the company would take all her personal information and keep it, using it for who know's what, it made her mother happy. And that was all that mattered.
Sarah waited for weeks as she opens the mail box each day to either find it empty or filled with taxes. Each day, her worries became bigger and bigger. Finally, when she had almost given hope, there was a letter addressed to her with a large text on the front of it saying '23andMe. Her eyes widened and she immediately opened the letter right then and there. It had told her that her grandfather was actually in Florida. She ran to her mother immediately and they booked a flight to Florida. They stood at the front of the door as they looked at each other and her mom says, " Are you ready?" Sarah looks back at the door and then looks back at her mother. " I'm ready." She states as her mother knocks on the door.
ReplyDeleteFor weeks Sarah waited anxiously for her results from "23andMe". Everyday after school she would come home a check the mailbox and there was nothing ever in it. One day she got an email and it said "Dear Sarah, thank you so much for using "23andMe", this email is confirming the delivery of your "23andMe" results. I hope you received your results in a timely manner. Have a great day. And thank you again for using "23andMe". As Sarah read this email she realized that she never received her results. She went back out to see if the package was just delivered but it wasn't. The first thing that came to Sarah's mind was that"What if my DNA or personal information was stolen". She contacted "23andMe" and they insisted that her results were sent. She checked the address that it was sent to and she saw that it wasn't her address. Her results have been sent to the wrong address. So now not only does Sarah not have her results, but now someone has her results. Sarah is shocked and doesn't think that she will ever find her results and doesn't know who it has been sent to.
ReplyDeleteFor days Sarah waited for her results back from "23andMe", but nothing had come in the mail for her. She started to get worried and she called her friends asking for advice on what to do. One friend said to call the company, so Sarah listened and did so. Once she got through to a representative, they told her they were awaiting to receive the tests from the head of the company, but when Sarah asked about this "head of the company", they told her the information was classified. The man then told her that to get her responses back quicker there would be a fee. This wasn't how the DNA test was supposed to go. She was just supposed to send it in and recieve answers with no additional charge. Sarah begin to think she was being scammed and she hung up the phone. A few hours later she emailed the company asking again about the results and she mentioned the phone call. 23andMe responded saying they never got a phone call from Sarah's number nor had they received her sample yet. Sarah's DNA was missing...
ReplyDeleteA few seconds after she turned away from the mail box, she impulsively ran back to it. She opened it and retrieved the 23andMe envelope, and took it back with her to the house. She realized that she could be putting herself in danger. She didn't know what they did with her information after. She wasn't aware of how it would be used in the future. Although she risked not being able to know her grandfather, not to mention if he was even alive or not, she knew she would at least be safe. She didn't need her DNA being leaked, she needed to do her homework.
ReplyDeleteAfter she made the decision of sending the letter, she quickly rethought her decision. She contemplated on the impact it might have on her life if it got in the wrong hands, as well as affect her. She decided that although she was curious about her ancestors, she realized that it wasn't worth the risk. This is because she needed to properly analyze the website of 23andMe once again. She had to make sure that both her personal information and genetic information was going to be safe and taken care of with the right people.
ReplyDeleteWeeks had gone by and Sarah has never been so anxious in her life. She spent all the days worrying about her results. The day had finally come, her results were delivered. She couldn't believe it.She scanned through her results, finding out more information about her ancestors. And there it was. Her grandfather's name printed on the results. With joy, she decided to contact him... Until she found out that her grandfather wanted nothing to do with her. He had told Sarah to "never contact him again." What a disappointment.
ReplyDelete