Genealogy Databases Enable Naming of Anonymous DNA Donors
Menée sur des bases de données publiques comportant des informations relatives aux séquences d'ADN anonymisées du chromosome Y de participants masculins, cette étude démontre la possibilité de déterminer avec précision l'identité de nombreux individus
By applying an algorithm to anonymized genomes from a research database and doing some online sleuthing with popular genealogy Web sites, researchers were able to guess the true identities of DNA donors. Privacy concerns have been raised about publicly accessible genome data before, and managers of a popular repository were aware of the risks posed, but few people had guessed how easy deanonymizing the data was. As genealogy databases and other resources improve, how can individuals be protected, and what are the implications?
Science , commentaire, 2013