Some 23andMe user data has been compromised. Here’s what you need to know

23andMe confirmed to Wired on Friday that a subset of their user data was compromised by hackers guessing login credentials. Once they were logged in, the hackers accessed additional data using the company’s DNA Relatives feature.

23andMe is a biotechnology company that uses saliva to analyze a user’s DNA and then informs them about their genetics, ranging from ancestry to potential health risks.

Wired reported that though the data extracted doesn’t appear to include “actual, raw genetic data,” it does include display name, sex, birth year and genetic ancestry like “broadly European” or “broadly Arabian.”

After extracting the data, hackers began selling it on BreachForums earlier this week and advertised that more than 1 million data points were from Ashkenazi Jews. The data was sold from $1 to $10 per account depending on how much data was purchased.

In its statement to Wired, 23andMe said, “We were made aware that certain 23andMe customer profile information was compiled through access to individual 23andMe.com accounts. We believe that the threat actor may have then, in violation of our terms of service, accessed 23andme.com accounts without authorization and obtained information from those accounts.”

Who are Ashkenazi Jews?

“Ashkenazim” originally referred to Jews in Germany, but has “come to refer more broadly to Jews from Central and Eastern Europe,” according to My Jewish Learning. Roughly half of the world’s Jewish population today identifies as Ashkenazi, per Harvard.

Wired reported, “The full picture of why the data was stolen, how much more the attackers have, and whether it is actually focused entirely on Ashkenazim is still unclear.”

One researcher examined several released files of 23andMe’s compromised data and discovered that in addition to the file containing 1 million data points on Ashkenazi Jews, another file contained 300,000 data points on “users of Chinese heritage,” per The Record.

How many users does 23andMe have?

In May, 23andMe reported that it has more than 14 million users.

“The Company has also created the world’s largest, re-contactable crowdsourced platform of genotypic information paired with billions of phenotypic data points contributed by engaged customers,” the May financial report said.