Hackers on the website BreachForums targeted and stole user data from genealogy testing company 23andMe. They specifically focused on two groups: individuals of Jewish descent and individuals of Chinese descent.
The data breach resulted in a hacker database that primarily consisted of Ashkenazi Jews, a subset of the Jewish diaspora who migrated from Central and Eastern Europe to the Western Hemisphere.
23andMe has confirmed that data was compromised but claims that their systems were not breached directly. They stated that threat actors gained access to certain accounts due to users recycling login credentials. This means that usernames and passwords used on other previously hacked websites were the same as those used on 23andMe.com.
Wired reports that at least one million users of Ashkenazi Jewish descent and hundreds of thousands of individuals of Chinese descent have been impacted by the hacking.
The hackers are now attempting to sell the stolen data from the hacked profiles. They are offering different quantities of profiles for various prices, such as 100 profiles for $1,000, 1,000 profiles for $5,000, 10,000 profiles for $20,000, and 100,000 profiles for $100,000. This information was revealed through a screenshot from BreachForums that was published by the news publication Bleeping Computer.
The hacked user data is titled “Ashkenazi DNA Data of Celebrities,” although the majority of the people in the database are not celebrities. NBC News reported on the startling possibility that this data could be used by Nazis.
