Idaho Murders Arrest Reminds You That Your DNA Isn’t Private or Safe

Police arrested a suspect Friday in the brutal stabbing and murder of four University of Idaho student in November. Bryan Christopher Kohberger, a 28-year old criminology graduate student was arrested by law enforcement through DNA Sourced from a public genealogical database. Kohberger’s arrest is a relief to Americans across the country, particularly the victims’ families and the traumatized Moscow, Idaho community. It is also a reminder of the dangers that DNA technology poses to safety, privacy, and personal freedoms. 

In 2018, DNA famously helped catch Joseph James DeAngelo Jr., a serial killer, sex offender, and burglar, who terrorized Californians for more than a decade in the 1970s and ’80s. DeAngelo was found by investigators through distant relatives who used GEDmatch, which is a free genealogy website that allows users to upload their DNA test results and find related relatives. 

The Golden State Killer case highlighted the ethical issues surrounding crime solving using DNA databases. The primary problem is that there is no guarantee of DNA privacy, even if you don’t submit your DNA to a company like GEDmatch. It doesn’t matter if you don’t have any relatives who submit DNA. People can be identified by distant relatives. The Golden State Killer case is an example of law enforcement. narrowed their search using DNA data from family members directly related to DeAngelo’s great-great-great grandparents dating back to the 1800s.

Many wave away the privacy concerns because DNA has been used to catch criminals, including murderers like Kohberger, but there’s no guarantee this technology will always be used for good. The integrity of any institution is not guaranteed. FBI, CIAAnd DHS They have already illegally abused their power against the American people.

Don’t Believe the Privacy Promises  

Another problem is that companies’ privacy promises are completely bogus. There are many ways to get in touch with us. GEDmatch 2019 solve The case of a 71 year-old woman who was strangled as she performed the organ in a church alone. Per GEDmatch’s terms of service, the site would only share users’ DNA with law enforcement in the case of sexual assault or homicide. 

Since the Utah victim was not sexually assaulted and survived the attack, GEDmatch was not supposed to share users’ data to solve the case. However, the company’s founder decided to hand over DNA data anyway. The offender was subsequently caught and GEDmatch users’ privacy was breached. 

As a response to the outrage expressed by users regarding privacy violations, GEDmatch Decided that people would be able to choose to “opt-in” to allow law enforcement to access their DNA. The hope was that they would be able to access their DNA. “opt-in” This would ensure that users’ privacy is protected if they do not want their data to be shared. However, in the fall of 2019, a warrant by law enforcement in Florida demanded access to all of GEDmatch’s DNA profiles, including users who had not opted to give law enforcement access. GEDmatch complied With the warrant. 

Just because you don’t submit your DNA test results to GEDmatch, doesn’t mean your privacy is protected. GEDmatch may have violated the terms of service.