23andMe Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (23A02105402112425)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the 23andMe breach identified under incident ID 23A02105402112425.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of 23andMe's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/23andme, the number of followers: 80552, the industry type: Biotechnology Research and the number of employees: 633 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 323 and after the incident was 100 with a difference of -223 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on 23andMe and their customers.

On 01 October 2023, 23andMe Inc. (now Chrome Holding Co. / ChromeCo Inc.) disclosed Data Breach and Class Action Lawsuit issues under the banner "23andMe $50 Million Data Breach Class Action Settlement".

23andMe Inc.

The disruption is felt across the environment, and exposing Personal Information, Genetic Information and Health Reports, with nearly 6,400,000 records at risk, plus an estimated financial loss of $50,000,000 (settlement fund).

In response, and began remediation that includes $50M settlement fund and 5-year privacy/medical/genetic monitoring services, and stakeholders are being briefed through Settlement notices to affected customers and Online and mail-in claim submission options.

The case underscores how Settled (pending final court approval on 2026-01-20), with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Settlement notices sent to affected customers, Online claim portal and Mail-in claim forms.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Valid Accounts (T1078) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating inadequate data protection measures (root cause), no explicit vector but implies credential abuse or weak access controls. Under the Collection tactic, the analysis identified Data from Local System (T1005) with high confidence (95%), supported by evidence indicating raw genotype data, health reports, and self-reported health conditions compromised. Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol: Exfiltration to Cloud Storage (T1048.003) with moderate to high confidence (85%), supported by evidence indicating data exfiltration such as Yes (6.4M records including genetic/health data). Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Data Encrypted for Impact (T1486) with lower confidence (30%), supported by evidence indicating no explicit ransomware but high-risk data exposure led to $50M settlement and Resource Hijacking (T1496) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating company faced bankruptcy, asset sale, and rebranding due to breach fallout. Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files (T1552.001) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating inadequate data protection measures (implied weak credential storage). These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.