Jan. 17, 2013 — Using only a computer, an
Internet connection, and publicly accessible online resources, a team of
Whitehead Institute researchers has been able to identify nearly 50
individuals who had submitted personal genetic material as participants
in genomic studies.
Intent on conducting an exercise in "vulnerability research" -- a
common practice in the field of information security -- the team took a
multi-step approach to prove that under certain circumstances, the full
names and identities of genomic research participants can be determined,
even when their genetic information is held in databases in
de-identified form.
"This is an important result that points out the potential for
breaches of privacy in genomics studies," says Whitehead Fellow Yaniv
Erlich, who led the research team. A description of the group's work is
published in this week's Science magazine.
Erlich and colleagues began by analyzing unique genetic markers known
as short tandem repeats on the Y chromosomes (Y-STRs) of men whose
genetic material was collected by the Center for the Study of Human
Polymorphisms (CEPH) and whose genomes were sequenced and made publicly
available as part of the 1000 Genomes Project. Because the Y chromosome
is transmitted from father to son, as are family surnames, there is a
strong correlation between surnames and the DNA on the Y chromosome.
Recognizing this correlation, genealogists and genetic genealogy
companies have established publicly accessible databases that house
Y-STR data by surname. In a process known as "surname inference," the
Erlich team was able to discover the family names of the men by
submitting their Y-STRs to these databases. With surnames in hand, the
team queried other information sources, including Internet record search
engines, obituaries, genealogical websites, and public demographic data
from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Human
Genetic Cell Repository at New Jersey's Coriell Institute, to identify
nearly 50 men and women in the United States who were CEPH participants.
Previous studies have contemplated the possibility of genetic
identification by matching the DNA of a single person, assuming the
person's DNA were cataloged in two separate databases. This work,
however, exploits data between distant paternally-related individuals.
As a result, the team notes that the posting of genetic data from a
single individual can reveal deep genealogical ties and lead to the
identification of a distantly-related person who may have no
acquaintance with the person who released that genetic data.
"We show that if, for example, your Uncle Dave submitted his DNA to a
genetic genealogy database, you could be identified," says Melissa
Gymrek, a member of the Erlich lab and first author of the Science
paper. "In fact, even your fourth cousin Patrick, whom you've never met,
could identify you if his DNA is in the database, as long as he is
paternally related to you."
Aware of the sensitivity of his work, Erlich emphasizes that he has
no intention of revealing the names of those identified, nor does he
wish to see public sharing of genetic information curtailed.
"Our aim is to better illuminate the current status of
identifiability of genetic data," he says. "More knowledge empowers
participants to weigh the risks and benefits and make more informed
decisions when considering whether to share their own data. We also hope
that this study will eventually result in better security algorithms,
better policy guidelines, and better legislation to help mitigate some
of the risks described."
To that end, Erlich shared his findings with officials at the
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and NIGMS prior to
publication. In response, NIGMS and NHGRI moved certain demographic
information from the publicly-accessible portion the NIGMS cell
repository to help reduce the risk of future breaches. In the same issue
of Science in which the Erlich study appears, Judith H. Greenberg and
Eric D. Green, the Directors of NIGMS and NHGRI, and colleagues author a
perspective on this latest research in which they advocate for an
examination of approaches to balance research participants' privacy
rights with the societal benefits to be realized from the sharing of
biomedical research data.
"Yaniv's work is a timely reminder that in this era in which massive
amounts of genomic data are being generated rapidly and shared in the
interest of scientific advancement, there is an increasing likelihood of
privacy breaches," says Whitehead Institute Director David Page. "I'm
delighted that, thanks to Yaniv's overture to NIH, we at Whitehead
Institute have the opportunity to join policymakers at NHGRI and
elsewhere in what will be a critical, ongoing dialog about the
importance of safeguarding data, of sharing data, and the implications
of failure in either endeavor."
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130117142345.htm
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