Is Your DNA at Risk? 23andMe's Bankruptcy Nightmare!

Houston We Have a Problem...With Privacy!

Well well well looks like 23andMe has found itself in a bit of a pickle. As I always say 'Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.' And perhaps they thought those DNA strands were as secure as Windows 95 back in the day! But the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is sniffing around concerned that all that sensitive genetic information might be 'at risk of being compromised.' Compromised? Sounds like someone's been playing a little too much Minesweeper with our DNA.

Congress to 23andMe: Show Me the Data!

Guthrie Bilirakis and Palmer – sounds like a law firm straight out of a John Grisham novel – have sent a strongly worded letter (the kind I used to get about my early software bugs) to 23andMe's interim CEO. They want answers! They want to know what's going on with our precious genetic blueprints. It's like when I had to explain why Clippy kept popping up. Nobody wants unwanted intrusions especially when it comes to their DNA.

From $6 Billion to Bankruptcy: A Dot Com Bubble Redux?

Remember when 23andMe was the darling of Silicon Valley valued at a cool $6 billion? Seems like yesterday. Now they're filing for bankruptcy. It's a classic case of 'The stock market is filled with individuals who know the price of everything but the value of nothing.' Apparently recurring revenue and a lucrative research business are a bit harder to crack than I thought. But hey at least they didn’t try to sell us Zunes.

No Federal Privacy Law? That's Just Not Cricket!

The congressmen are rightly worried. Without a comprehensive federal data privacy law our sensitive information is floating around like a rogue Word document. HIPAA protects health information but apparently direct to consumer companies like 23andMe get a free pass. It's like giving someone a license to drive a DeLorean without knowing how to operate the flux capacitor. Risky business indeed.

Hackers Galore and Anonymity No More!

As if bankruptcy wasn't enough 23andMe has also been hit with privacy concerns after hackers accessed the information of nearly 7 million customers. I thought I was the master of debugging but this is a whole new level of complexity! DNA is unique they say. It can never be fully anonymized. Which means if it falls into the wrong hands things could get dicey. Think identity theft on a whole new genetic level!

Deleting Your Data: Easier Said Than Done?

23andMe claims you can delete your account and data. But some users are reporting trouble doing so. 'Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.' Let's hope 23andMe is listening and fixing this pronto. Because if you can't even delete your data what's the point? It's like trying to uninstall Internet Explorer – a task seemingly impossible.