Your Privacy Is At Risk Even If You Haven't Had Your DNA Tested

A new Columbia University study has found that so many people have had their DNA sequenced that they've put other people's privacy in jeopardy.

According to the study, more than half of Americans could be identified by name if all you had to start with was a sample of their DNA and a few basic facts, such as the region where they live and about how old they might be.  More than 1 million Americans have already published their genetic information, and dozens more do so every day.  The researchers behind the new study say that once 3 million Americans have uploaded their genomes to public genealogy websites, nearly everyone in the U.S. would be identifiable by their DNA alone and just a few additional clues.

There are two developing trends that have made this possible. One of them is the rise of direct-to-consumer genetic testing. Companies such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe can sequence anyone’s DNA for about $100. All you have to do is provide a sample of saliva and drop it in the mail.  The other essential element is the proliferation of publicly searchable genealogy databases like GEDmatch, which are used by people looking for lost relatives or by adopted children looking for their natural parents. Anyone can upload a full genome to these sites and powerful computers will crunch through it, looking for stretches of matching DNA sequences that can be used to build out a family tree.

To test the growing power of these sites, researchers led by Columbia University computer scientist Yaniv Erlich set out to see whether they could find a person’s name — and thus, her identity — if all they had to go on was a piece of her DNA and a small amount of biographical information.

They started by uploading a full DNA sequence from a random Utah woman  to GEDmatch and ran a search to see if she had any relations on the site.They found two: one in North Dakota and one in Wyoming.  By comparing the DNA of all three relatives, Erlich’s team was able to find a common ancestral couple that were the Utah woman’s great-grandparents.

Next, the researchers scoured genealogical websites and other sources for additional descendants of that long-ago couple. They found 10 children and hundreds of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  Then they started culling their massive list of descendants. They eliminated all the men from the sample, then those who were not alive when the Utah woman’s DNA was sequenced. The authors also knew that their subject was married and how many children she had, which helped them zero in on their target.  After a day's worth of work, they researchers were able to correctly name the owner of the DNA sample.

The authors said the same process would work for about 60% of Americans of European descent, who are the people most likely to use genealogical websites, Erlich said. Though the odds of success would be lower for people from other backgrounds, it would still be expected to work for more than half of all Americans, they said.

It's clear that these genetic databases are turning into quite a problem from both a privacy standpoint and in terms of giving healthcare insurance companies a big heads up on pre-existing conditions. Combine that with GOP dreams of eliminating the pre-existing condition requirements and you have the recipe for a permanent under class of uninsurable people starting before they are born.