UK regulators fined 23 and 23 million pounds ($ 3.1 million) on Tuesday for data privacy violations derived from the company Mass breach of data by 2023.
The Information Commissioner’s office says that the genetic test company, which has since presented the protection of Chapter 11 to the United States, could not implement “appropriate” security measures to protect personal information from the United Kingdom users, committing this data to breach. The UK’s fine comes after a joint investigation of the ICO and Canada Privacy Commissioner’s office.
In a statement, the United Kingdom Information Commissioner John Edwards called the “deeply harmful” breach, saying that he stated sensitive personal information, including family stories and the health conditions of thousands in the United Kingdom.
“Its security systems were inadequate,” said Edwards. “The warning signs were there and the company responded slowly. This left the most sensitive data for the vulnerable people to the exploitation and damage.”
By 2023 the cyberdelinquents violated the 23andme systems using a “Credential attack“It consists of bombing on -line accounts with large sets of usernames and stolen passwords in previous unrelated attacks. For a period of months, intruders were able to do with personal data of more than 6.9 million people, including about 155,000 residents in the United Kingdom.
The ICO said on Tuesday that at the time of breach, 23andme did not require additional verification, such as a biometric indicator or a code sent to their phone, to access user accounts, which violates the United Kingdom law. Since then, the company has changed its practices for default activating the authentication of two factors.
Assembly costs related to breach, along with the disadvantaged demand, were key factors in the 23andme decision Archive for Failure Protection at the beginning of the year. The movement also made legal and technological experts ask about the future security and privacy of the large collection of genetic samples of consumption and personal data of the company.
An offer of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to buy most of the company’s assets for $ 256 million found criticism but this company was Ultimately last week For the Ttam Research Institute, a profit by Anne Wojcicki, co -founder of 23andme and ex -CEO. This agreement is still subject to the approval of the final court and the usual closing conditions.
