DNA Database Privacy

Sharing DNA data with cops, after the fact surely doesn't help

They can match me with my DNA if they already have complete knowledge of my family structure and all their DNA. So if all Kardashians but one send their DNA for tests providing their true identities and the last one sends anonymously, they can assume the identity of the last one.So yes, there's a risk but its not much different from going outside and leave behind hair or saliva unaccounted for. That's Putin level of paranoia IMHO(he is known to have men collecting his poo etc. when

Can law enforcement ping the 23andme database with any DNA they swab?

The man in the linked story did not have his DNA in any database that the police used - they got his name volunteered from the people present at the crime scene. So yes it is a problem that can affect you if your DNA isn't in any database.

How could that happen? If they have your DNA and find it at a crime scene and correctly identify you, wouldn't it mean that you were at the crime scene at some point? Perhaps at least you should be contacted to find out what you know. Perhaps for some reason your DNA is there and you have no alibi. This is not just a risk of DNA though: It would be the same effect if a witness saw you but did not see the actual criminal. It will be extremely difficult to categorically avoid this kind of mis

DNA can be used to verify a suspect, it is not really valid to compare a crime scene sample to a national database because you WILL get a match with high probability even if the perp is not in the database. DNA is not a unique identifier, at least no the way its used.In this case it sounds like they used it for verification, since the sought a comparison of a suspect with a specific baby's DNA. From a science perspective this seems quite reasonable. From a privacy PoV IDK.

I have a lot of faith in the EFF but in this case I think they are confused. Our DNA is one of the least private aspects of ourselves. We share the vast majority of it with our family and even neighbors. The idea of hiding it is absurdly impossible. We leave it everywhere we go in quantities that are more than sufficient to completely reconstruct our genome. We would literally need to wear full body latex suits with filtered respirators to keep it private. In the medium term, the idea of having

It's DNA, not DNS. Yes, this is terrible. I'm sure the police would be happy to get the DNA of everyone.

FYI, the police is able to find criminals now by finding DNA sequences similarities with your relatives. Not saying this is good or bad, I am just saying you don't know the extent of the impact to your personal freedom when your relative's DNA is shared.

Do others on HN not quite see the harm here? I think ultimately I don't know why (morally/legally/etc.) one is entitled to have absolute privacy over one's DNA. If you leave your DNA somewhere I don't see why others couldn't take it. Similarly, people have a right to ID others by people's face. This is just slightly more nuanced.I see huge upside (as mentioned in the article it is becoming harder and harder to get away with vicious crimes) with limited downs