news

23andMe user data targeting Ashkenazi Jews leaked online

A database that has been shared on dark web forums and viewed by NBC News has a list of 999,999 people who allegedly have used the service

A 23andMe Ancestry + Traits Service DNA kit arranged in Dobbs Ferry, New York, U.S., on on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2021. Consumer DNA-testing company 23andMe Inc. is in talks to go public through a roughly $4 billion deal with VG Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company founded by billionaire Richard Branson, according to people familiar with the matter.
Tiffany Hagler-Geard/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Hackers have compiled a giant apparent list of people with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry after taking that information from the genetic testing service 23andMe, which is now being shared on the internet.

A database that has been shared on dark web forums and viewed by NBC News has a list of 999,999 people who allegedly have used the service. It includes their first and last name, sex, and 23andMe’s evaluation of where their ancestors came from. The database is titled “ashkenazi DNA Data of Celebrities,” though most of the people on it aren’t famous, and it appears to have been sorted to only include people with Ashkenazi heritage.

NBC News was able to verify the data of two 23andMe users in the breach as authentic.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com here.

Contact Us