*By Conor White* Though the email addresses and passwords of more than 90 million customers were exposed in a data breach, the DNA-testing service MyHeritage tried to assure its users their personal information is still safe. "It's important to remember none of the genetic data was compromised," said Rob Verger, the assistant tech editor at Popular Science. "But it is a reminder that almost everything is hackable." The leak of more than 90 million emails and encrypted passwords to a private service occurred last October, but a security researcher did not inform MyHeritage of the breach until 7 months later, on June 4. The company said it has no reason to believe the hack was carried out by malicious actors, but it doesn't know for sure. Verger said companies like MyHeritage take additional steps to protect their clients' highly-personal genetic information. "I reached out to some other companies to kind of ask them about their security practices in this arena, and a lot of them say that things like user data that is personally identifiable is kept on a separate system from the genetic data," he said. In a [statement](https://blog.myheritage.com/2018/06/cybersecurity-incident-june-5-6-update/), MyHeritage said it would inform each individual user affected by the hack, and fortify security with a two-step verification process. For full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/myheritage-reveals-data-breach).

Share:
More In Technology
How Businesses Can Stay Ahead of Emerging Tech
Brands are always looking for ways to scale and innovate. Cheddar News catches up with John Dubois, EY Consumer Data & Analytics Leader, at EY's Emerging Tech pop-up event at SXSW to find out how brands can stay ahead of emerging tech.
Meta Says Blue Check Marks Are Coming to Facebook and Instagram
Blue check marks are coming to Instagram and Facebook. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Friday announced the expansion of a premium subscription service for $11.99 per month on the web and $14.99 on mobile. The service launched in Australia and New Zealand last month.
Load More