The Oklahoma City Police Department announced Monday that personal data belonging to victims of sexual assault may have been exposed as the result of a security incident that occurred at a DNA analysis laboratory used by the police department. The department was performing forensic testing on evidence provided by sexual assault victims at the time of the incident, according to news channel KFOR. The OKCPD stated that DNA Solutions, a private DNA analysis lab located in Oklahoma City, had recently reported a security incident to the department. DNA Solutions provides paternity and forensic testing in humans, genotype registries, DNA banking, and animal forensic identification.
The OKCPD told the press that DNA Solutions had been contracted for two years to perform Y-screening tests that detects male DNA foreign to the victim of the sexual assault. DNA Solutions determined that its network was accessed by an unauthorized third party that may have compromised personal and health-related information regarding the victims. DNA Solutions reportedly discovered the breach on November 18, and promptly blocked the hacker’s access to its network. An investigation to determine which files were access is still underway. DNA Solutions does not believe that personally identifiable information was accessed in the breach.
Read More: Oklahoma Cops Say Rape Victims’ Data May Have Been Leaked
