DNA-testing startup Veritas Genetics disclosed a security breach

Pierluigi Paganini November 08, 2019

DNA-testing startup Veritas Genetics disclosed a security breach that exposed customer information, but genetic information, health records are not affected.

Veritas Genetics is a whole genome sequencing company that provides actionable insights for a healthier life and family, it offers whole-genome sequencing for $599.

The company announced that it recently discovered authorized access to its customer-facing portal, the good news is that the portal didn’t contain genetic data, DNA-test results or health records. 

“The security and privacy of customer information is a top priority, and we have security processes and procedures in place as part of this commitment, including segregating and securing genomic data on separate systems,” reads a statement published by Veritas Genetics.

The company did not reveal when exactly it became aware of the security breach, at the time it is not clear how long the customer data had been exposed.

Unlike other DNA-testing firms, Veritas Genetics provides the complete analysis of the person’s DNA, the company sequences all 6.4 billion letters of a genome, allowing its customers to have insights into hundreds of genetic diseases.

The company pointed out that only a portion of its customers has been impacted by the security breach, but did not provide further details on the attack or what information was accessible. Veritas announced that it has discovered the root cause of the unauthorized access and has already addressed it. The firm hired external cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident, it also started notifying potentially impacted customers.

“Our forensic investigation is ongoing, and we will notify any potentially impacted individual as appropriate under applicable law,” states the company.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – Veritas Genetics, data breach)

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