23andMe: Columbus Woman Scared After DNA Leaked By Hackers

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Close to a million people have had their DNA and personal information leaked through the popular DNA Biotech company, '23 and me'.

Gahanna resident, Alexandra Lee Klawitter and her father are two of the almost 1 million victims, many of whom she says are Jewish.

“I was shocked," Klawitter told ABC 6. "My family is scared. People I have seen on TikTok and Facebook are scared. I think it has something to do with what’s going on in Israel. Everything political has been heightened and we've been seeing an alarming rate of antisemitism and nazis in the news lately and all over the internet."

Klawitter says she first heard of the hack, not from the company, but from a post made on TikTok.

After searching online, she came across a document created by the hackers. A spreadsheet was posted online with thousands of names of people including herself, her father and a number of other people - including from here in Franklin County.

“I didn't get any notification from the company," she said. "That’s when I started looking it up and was able to found, the document. I was led to believe my information was safe and had I known originally that doing this would have me dox online for being Jewish, I would of not done it."

Klawitter says she immediately messaged the company on Facebook last week. They opened her message, but did not respond. She finally received a generic notification of the hack to her email, yesterday.

In that email, 23andMe says their investigation shows a threat was able to access certain accounts where users recycled login usernames and passwords. The company now requiring all customers to change their passwords and use multi-factor authentication.

"That document has listed names, state and county you live in," she said. "Male or Female. They are just saying to change your passwords, which doesn't do much to mitigate the situation. I feel like almost a million people they put in danger. Think of history. Compile a list of Jews? Step one. Thats how it feels."

As she waits for a response directly from 23andMe, Klawitter says she is anxious and nervous. She wants a full refund from the DNA company and would like action to be taken to remove the spreadsheet online.

23andMe says they are still investigating with federal law enforcement and forensic experts.