23andMe accused of failing to protect user data in new lawsuit
Summary
The state of California has sued the genetic testing company 23andMe, accusing it of not protecting user data during a hacking incident in 2023. Hackers were inside the company’s systems for five months and accessed information from nearly seven million users.Key Facts
- California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the lawsuit against 23andMe’s corporate debtor name, Chrome Holding Co.
- Hackers accessed data linked to nearly seven million 23andMe users for five months in 2023.
- Over one million login attempts to a single customer account were detected in one day, but the company did not respond effectively.
- The lawsuit claims 23andMe minimized the severity of the breach while hackers sold genetic and ancestry data on the dark web.
- After the breach, 23andMe required two-step login verification and new passwords for customers.
- 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million in a class-action settlement related to the breach.
- The company was sold for $305 million in bankruptcy court last year to a nonprofit led by former CEO Anne Wojcicki.
- 23andMe started in 2006 and offers genetic testing through saliva samples to provide health and ancestry reports.
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