Strauss Borrelli PLLC, a leading data breach law firm, is investigating Choice DNA Laboratory, LLC (“Choice DNA”) regarding its recent cybersecurity incident. The Choice DNA cybersecurity incident may impact the privacy of sensitive personal information belonging to an undetermined number of individuals.
ABOUT CHOICE DNA LABORATORY, LLC:
Choice DNA is a DNA testing company based in Indiana. With a mission to offer DNA testing resources at an affordable cost to anyone who needs them, Choice DNA services include ancestry lab testing, court ordered and other paternity tests, deceased person DNA testing, drug testing, forensic DNA testing, and immigration DNA testing.2 Additionally, Choice DNA offers relationship DNA tests and facial recognition packages. In the latter, users can anonymously submit photos to the Choice DNA app that compares features to calculate possibility of a genetic relationship.3 Today, Choice DNA has over 6,100 locations around the country and offers both a mobile service and mailed DNA kits to increase accessibility.2
WHAT HAPPENED?
Recently, it was reported by an online source that Choice DNA had experienced a cybersecurity incident impacting the privacy of its data. According to this source, a cybersecurity researcher discovered non-password-protected biometric images and metadata records belonging to Choice DNA.1 The approximately 8,000 documents were stored in a non-secure WordPress folder, accessible using nothing more than a web browser, and were marked as “Facial Recognition Uploads”.1 In addition to photos, the cybersecurity researcher saw names, emails, phone numbers, and other possible PII or personal information such as descriptions of sensitive family issues in their order notes.1
According to the source, after discovering the exposed information the researcher attempted to contact Choice DNA but received no response. However, the files were restricted from public access around a week later. 1 At this time, it is not known how long these documents were exposed to the public or if anyone else may have accessed the database. As of September 26, 2024, Choice DNA has not publicly acknowledged the data exposure or confirmed whether the incident resulted in a data breach.
If you believe you were impacted by the Choice DNA Laboratory, LLC cybersecurity incident:
We would like to speak with you about your rights and potential legal remedies in response to this data breach. Please fill out the form, below, or contact us at 872.263.1100 or sam@straussborrelli.com.
