Katina Michael warns that your DNA data may not be as safe as you think. In some cases, consumer genetic testing companies, such as those that specialize in decoding ancestry, are not bound by federal medical privacy laws.

Michael is a professor of computer science and engineering in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence, part of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. With a joint appointment in ASU’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, her research interests converge in the space where biotechnology and cybersecurity meet. Michael’s global collaborations have given her a unique window of insight into how biometric data is collected, stored and utilized.

Each October, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency oversees Cybersecurity Awareness Month to inform the public on ways we can all help make the digital world more secure. For Michael, the proceedings cap a year of efforts that include speaking, writing and collaborating with experts about the growing need to better protect and secure biometric data.

Michael and her colleagues have an important message: We must take action now.

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