ArticleeLife2020
Attacks on genetic privacy via uploads to genealogical databases.
Article in eLife, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- IBS-CNN: a novel computer vision-based kinship classification model for high-density SNP microarray.International journal of legal medicine · 2026Article
- Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Distant Kinship Inference and Forensic Genetic Genealogy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- PRISM-G: an interpretable privacy scoring framework for assessing risk in synthetic human genome data.Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) · 2026Article
- A bibliometric analysis of investigative genetic genealogy in academic literature: Trends, networks, and emerging themes.Forensic science international. Synergy · 2026Review
- Investigative genetic genealogy practices warranting policy attention: Results of a modified policy Delphi.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- FedGMMAT: Federated generalized linear mixed model association tests.PLoS computational biology · 2024Article
- Assessing Privacy Vulnerabilities in Genetic Data Sets: Scoping Review.JMIR bioinformatics and biotechnology · 2024Article
- Review: Computational analysis of human skeletal remains in ancient DNA and forensic genetics.iScience · 2023Review
- From collected stamps to hair locks: ethical and legal implications of testing DNA found on privately owned family artifacts.Human genetics · 2023Article
- Revisiting informed consent in forensic genomics in light of current technologies and the times.International journal of legal medicine · 2023Article
- Gattaca as a lens on contemporary genetics: marking 25 years into the film's "not-too-distant" future.Genetics · 2022Article
- Sociotechnical safeguards for genomic data privacy.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2022Review
- Commercial DNA tests and police investigations: a broad bioethical perspective.Journal of medical ethics · 2021Article
- Germans and Genes on Screen: Marvel'sJournal of literature and science · 2021Article
- Identity-by-descent detection across 487,409 British samples reveals fine scale population structure and ultra-rare variant associations.Nature communications · 2020Article
- Responsible, practical genomic data sharing that accelerates research.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2020Review
- Article
- The challenges of maintaining genetic privacy.eLife · 2020Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetics services are increasingly popular, with tens of millions of customers. Several DTC genealogy services allow users to upload genetic data to search for relatives, identified as people with genomes that share identical by state (IBS) regions. Here, we describe methods by which an adversary can learn database genotypes by uploading multiple datasets. For example, an adversary who uploads approximately 900 genomes could recover at least one allele at SNP sites across up to 82% of the genome of a median person of European ancestries. In databases that detect IBS segments using unphased genotypes, approximately 100 falsified uploads can reveal enough genetic information to allow genome-wide genetic imputation. We provide a proof-of-concept demonstration in the GEDmatch database, and we suggest countermeasures that will prevent the exploits we describe.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.