Ankura CTIX FLASH Update - October 10, 2023

Malware Activity

23andMe Data Scraping Incident Exposes Data of Users of Chinese and Ashkenazi Heritage

23andMe has disclosed that a data scraping incident has taken place, resulting in hackers gaining access to sensitive user information and selling the data in a common hacking forum. 23andMe is a personal genomics and biotechnology giant that offers DNA testing services and is based in the United States. Samples of data were allegedly stolen from 23andMe and later leaked by a threat actor beginning on October 2, 2023. On October 4, 2023, the threat actor began offering data profiles in bulk, ranging from $1 to $10 per account depending on the number of accounts purchased. The exposed data is associated to customers of Chinese and Ashkenazi heritage specifically. The exposed data includes full name, usernames, profile photos, sex, date of birth, genetic ancestry results, health information, origin estimation, and more. It should be noted that the threat actor