23andMe agrees to pay $30 million to settle lawsuit over massive data breach

23andMe will salary $30 cardinal to settee a people action suit complete a information breach affecting much than 6.9 cardinal customers. As part of nan projected settlement, nan familial testing tract will compensate affected customers and supply them pinch entree to a information monitoring programme for 3 years.

23andMe disclosed nan information breach past October, but it didn’t corroborate nan wide effect until December. Customers utilizing nan DNA Relatives characteristic whitethorn person had accusation for illustration names, commencement years, and ancestry accusation exposed done nan breach. At nan time, 23andMe attributed nan hack to credential stuffing, a maneuver that involves logging into accounts utilizing recycled logins exposed successful erstwhile information breaches.

In January 2024, customers revenge a people action lawsuit against 23andMe successful a San Francisco court, alleging nan institution grounded to protect their privacy. They besides claimed nan institution didn’t decently notify customers pinch Chinese aliases Ashkenazi Jewish practice that hackers appeared to azygous them retired erstwhile putting information up for waste connected nan acheronian web.

The breach dealt a large rustle to nan already struggling company. As 23andMe’s banal value continued to crater, 23andMe CEO Anna Wojcicki attempted to return nan institution private earlier this year, but nan special committee rejected nan offer past month. The colony mentions concerns surrounding nan company’s finances, saying, “any litigated judgement importantly much than nan Settlement is apt to beryllium uncollectable.” In a connection to The Verge, 23andMe spokesperson Katie Watson said nan institution expects cyber security to screen $25 cardinal of nan settlement:

The projected colony still needs support from nan judge.