Digital DNA Lifecycle Security and Privacy: 1 An Overview

DNA sequencing technologies have advanced significantly in the last few years leading to advancements in biomedical research which has improved personalised medicine and the discovery of new treatments for diseases. Sequencing technology advancement has also reduced the cost of DNA sequencing, which has led to the rise of Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) sequencing e.g. 23andme.com, ancestry.co.uk etc. In the meantime, concerns have emerged over privacy and security in collecting, handling, analysing, and sharing DNA and genomic data.
DNA data is unique and can be used to identify individuals. Moreover, this data provides information on people’s current disease status and disposition e.g. mental health or susceptibility for developing cancer. DNA privacy violation does not only affect the owner but also affects their close consanguinity due to its hereditary nature.
This paper introduces and defines the term ‘Digital DNA Lifecycle’ and presents an overview of privacy and security threats and their mitigation techniques for pre-digital DNA and throughout the digital DNA life cycle. It covers DNA sequencing hardware, software and DNA sequence pipeline in addition to common privacy attacks and their countermeasures when DNA digital data is stored, queried, or shared. Likewise, the paper examines DTC genomic sequencing privacy and security.