What the Golden State Killer case means for your genetic privacy

Fears about the privacy of our data have become commonplace amid credit monitoring hacks and a political firm accessing Facebook users' information. A recent arrest takes it one step further, raising questions about how our genetic information is being used and who has access to it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to tip The Verge: secure email, Signal, SecureDrop, and more

Image
Do you know something The Verge should investigate? Here’s how to get in touch Note: this is only for editorial tips. For advertising, technical support, and other inquiries, go here . Some of our most important stories start with tips. We’re always looking for information about the companies and products that shape the way we live, insight into the government agencies responsible for public health and the environment, and other stories about the impact technology has on human beings. Evidence is key: firsthand experience or revealing documents will be more useful than a hunch. Have you encountered something that the public should know about? If so, we want to hear from you. How to tip The Verge Email Email is the easiest way to reach us. Send tips to the general Verge email here: tips@theverge.com Email addresses for specific reporters and editors are linked on this staff list . If you are at risk of reprisals, do not use your work email, Wi-Fi, or device. Some of our repor...
Read more

The New York Attorney General’s Office will investigate the Capital One data breach

Image
Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images New York Attorney General Letitia James announced today that her office plans to investigate the Capital One data breach that impacted more than 100 million people in the US and Canada. “[We] will work to ensure that New Yorkers who were victims of this breach are provided relief,” James said in a statement. “We cannot allow hacks of this nature to become every day occurrences.” The breach, allegedly carried out by a former Amazon Web Services engineer, compromised names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, dates of birth, and self-reported incomes. Capital One’s press release also claims that 140,000 US Social Security numbers, 80,000 bank account numbers, and 1 million Canadian social insurance numbers were also compromised. This data breach follows the settlement of another monumental breach: Equifax. In that 2017 incident, the company exposed as many as 147 million people’s personal information, incl...
Read more

Sony has sold 100 million PS4s

Image
Sony’s PlayStation 4 console has been a huge hit for the company, and it has now hit the 100 million sales milestone. Sony revealed in its latest earnings that the company sold 3.2 million PS4 devices in the quarter ended June 30th, meaning exactly 100 million have now been sold in total. Sony was previously sitting at 96.8 million PlayStation 4 consoles after the previous quarter. While sales of the PS4 might be slowing down , it’s still the fastest home game consoles to reach 100 million unit sales, according to Daniel Ahmad, Senior Analyst at Niko Partners. That’s faster than both the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo’s popular Wii console. The PlayStation 4 reached this milestone after just 5 years and 7 months, and less than 3 years after passing 50 million sales . This makes PlayStation 4 the fastest home console to reach 100 million unit sell in. Faster than both the PS2 and Wii which were just behind. It took PS2 a total of five years and 9 months. PS4 was just 5 years and 7...
Read more