US military warned DNA kits could threaten security

THE Pentagon is advising members of the United States military not to use ancestry DNA testing kits as they could pose a security risk.

A memo circulated by the US Department of Defence warns of “outside parties” exploiting the data for “questionable purposes” including secret surveillance.

Mail-in home testing kits, which allow people to get a lab breakdown of their genetic make-up and heritage from a sample of saliva, have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Companies such as Ancestry have about 15 million users, while the genomics firm 23andme has 10 million.

The advice, obtained by Yahoo News, said: “Exposing sensitive genetic information to outside parties poses personal and operational risks to service members.

“These genetic tests are largely unregulated and could expose personal and genetic information, and potentially create unintended security consequences and increased risk to the joint force and mission.

“There is increased concern in the scientific community that outside parties are exploiting the use of genetic data for questionable purposes, including mass surveillance and the ability to track individuals without their authorisation or awareness.”

The memo, written by Joseph D Kernan, the undersecretary of defence for intelligence, and James N Stewart, the assistant secretary of defence for manpower, noted that some DNA kit companies have been targeting military personnel with discounts.

Erin Murphy, a professor at New York University’s School of Law, said a commercial genetic database could be used to unmask a person working undercover.

“It all boils down to the same basic idea,” she told the website.

“In a world in which a few stray cells can be used to identify a person, there is no such thing as a covert action, and no such thing as anonymity.”

Ancestry, based in Utah, said measures were in place to protect the identity of customers.

“Protecting our customers’ privacy and being good stewards of their data is Ancestry’s highest priority,” a spokesman for the company said.

California-based 23andme did not respond to a request for a comment.