01 Sep
Secure encrypted genomic data storage and blockchain technologies to give you true ownership, security and control over the most valuable and powerful personal dataset you will ever have — your DNA.
When you sign up to Genomes.io, your DNA data enters and lives in a secure encrypted cloud storage environment owned and controlled only by you. The analogy we like to use for this is your personal DNA vault. In this blog post, we’d like to tell you a little more about it.
What exactly is my personal DNA vault?
It’s not physical obviously, that’s a little last century. Our user DNA vaults harness the gold standard in cloud-based data storage security. These are fully virtualised containers that run all processes in encrypted memory, encrypting user provided genomic data in storage with keys provided by their mobile device. These user keys are never stored outside encrypted memory and are only available to the user, thus no one else will be able to access stored DNA data. Without this technology, software and data stored in the cloud is accessible to cloud data storage providers (e.g. AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure), making it highly unsuitable for storing any data, let alone highly sensitive DNA data. Genomes.io technology allows your DNA data to be stored in a manner that is completely inaccessible to the cloud operator or anyone else. This means you, and only you, can truly own and control your DNA data stored inside, protecting it from malicious cloud computing attacks.
How does my DNA data remain private before entering my DNA vault?
We work with vetted and trusted whole genome sequencing providers that have laboratories around the globe. Based on the price, location and other personal preferences, our users can select their sequencing provider. We will have explicit agreements and workflows put in place that ensure end-to-end privacy of your data when working with our providers. At no point does the sequencer know whose sample they are sequencing. They upload your data directly into your DNA vault based on a unique code through a password protected area, then destroy your sample and delete your data from their system. Your DNA data therefore only lives in one place, in your DNA vault, controlled by you.
How do I control access to my personal DNA vault?
The Genomes.io mobile application acts as your private keys to unlock and communicate with your personal vault. Only you hold the private keys to your vault, no one is able to access it without your explicit permission, not even Genomes.io. From your mobile device you can authorise every action that takes place within your personal vault, so you always remain in control of your DNA data. Whether this is accepting DNA data uploaded from a sequencing provider, running analyses of your data to generate your genomic reports or authorising requests from third parties to access anonymous segments of your genome.
