The Gift

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What happens when an online ancestry test reveals more than you bargained for?

Without us realising, an enormous DNA database has been created online. But what happens when online ancestry tests reveal more than you had bargained for?

Without us realising, an enormous DNA database has been created online. It holds the secrets of your true identity and promises to reveal untold family connections. But what happens when online ancestry tests reveal more than you had bargained for?

Across six episodes, Jenny Kleeman meets the men and women whose lives changed forever after they opened a box that contained a DNA test. Exposing scandals, upending identities, solving mysteries and delivering life-changing news - Jenny investigates what happens when genealogy, technology and identity collide.

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The Gift: Bonus Episode: Hacked

Bonus Episode: Hacked

BBC Radio 4 - The Gift, Bonus Episode: Hacked

Jenny Kleeman asks if a recent, unprecedented DNA data theft was racially motivated.

Jenny Kleeman asks if an unprecedented data theft from at-home DNA testing company 23andMe was a racially motivated attack - and if our genetic code can ever be stored safely.

Was a recent, unprecedented DNA data theft a racially motivated attack?

October 6th, 2023 - the day before Hamas launches its attack on Israel - a data set stolen from at-home DNA testing company 23andMe is posted on the dark web. A hacker under the username Golem claims it contains millions of data points relating to Ashkenazi Jews living globally. A vast repository of 23andMe account holder's personal information is then offered to anyone willing to pay for it - including names, birth dates, location and genetic ancestry details. Not only is it 23andMe's the biggest ever security breach but apparently it's been motivated by racism. 

Jenny Kleeman recently confirmed her Ashkenazi Jewish identity through a 23andMe test. Her mum and dad had already done so a few years previously. In this bonus episode of The Gift, Jenny investigates the 23andMe breach to discover what happened, who was targeted and if information as sensitive as our genetic code can ever be stored safely.

Presenter: Jenny Kleeman
Producer: Conor Garrett
Commissioning Editor: Hugh Levinson
Executive Producer: Philip Sellars
Production Co-ordinator: Gill Huggett

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The Gift

Bonus Episode: Hacked

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