23andMe Faces Legal Backlash Over Data Breach and Blames Victims

Facing a deluge of more than 30 lawsuits from individuals impacted by a substantial data breach, genomics company 23andMe has taken a defensive stance by placing responsibility on the victims themselves. The breach came to light in October when customer data surfaced for sale on the Dark Web. Presently, 23andMe is contending with numerous legal actions filed by individual victims, as the cyberattack compromised the user accounts of nearly 7 million users, marking a significant breach in the company’s security. 

Amidst over 30 legal actions filed by individuals affected by its extensive data breach, 23andMe has adopted a strategy of shifting culpability onto the victims, seeking to exonerate itself from any liability. This development was communicated in a letter addressed to a cohort of victims. 

Hassan Zavareei, a legal representative for the victims who received the letter from 23andMe, expressed concerns that rather than accepting responsibility for the data security breach, the company appears to be distancing itself from its customers and downplaying the severity of the situation. This comes after 23andMe disclosed in December that hackers had unlawfully accessed the genetic and ancestry data of 6.9 million users, constituting nearly half of its customer base. 

The inception of the data breach involved hackers initially gaining entry to approximately 14,000 user accounts. The perpetrators employed a method known as credential stu

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