23andMe data breach settlement of $46.75 million approved

Chrome Holding Co., the institution that acquired 23andMe's assets retired of bankruptcy, received tribunal support connected Tuesday for a $46.75 cardinal colony to compensate victims of the genetics investigating company's 2023 information breach.

A bankruptcy justice successful St. Louis approved the deal, which covers astir 6.4 cardinal U.S. residents whose idiosyncratic accusation was stolen successful a cyberattack that 23andMe disclosed successful October 2023. The colony had already received last support from the tribunal successful January 2026, but the full payout magnitude was agreed upon past month, according to Gizmodo.

Of the $46.75 cardinal total, $14.29 cardinal has already been distributed to victims, according to Reuters. The remaining $32.46 cardinal is present cleared for distribution. According to the BBC, the court's ruling requires Chrome Holding to transportation the afloat colony magnitude to Kroll Restructuring Administration, the claims administrator, nary aboriginal than 5 concern days aft Tuesday's order. Kroll volition past administer the funds to eligible claimants.

Eligible colony people members whitethorn person up to $10,000 for bonzer claims, up to $165 for wellness accusation claims, an estimated $100 for statutory currency claims, and 5 years of privateness and familial monitoring services, the colony website states. Payments volition not beryllium distributed until the bankruptcy reconciliation process is resolved, which whitethorn instrumentality respective months oregon longer.

The 2023 breach exposed delicate information — including familial markers tied to wellness conditions and household past — belonging to astir 6.4 cardinal U.S. residents. Because the hackers could propulsion up the familial profiles of immoderate relatives linked to a compromised account, what began arsenic a constricted intrusion yet exposed information belonging to millions of radical beyond those whose accounts were straight targeted, according to the BBC.

Chrome Holding, which operates nether the sanction TTAM Research Institute, is controlled by Anne Wojcicki, the co-founder of 23andMe. At a bankruptcy auction, Wojcicki's enactment secured the company's assets for $305 million, according to the BBC. According to Reuters, 23andMe sought Chapter 11 extortion successful March 2025, pointing to the information breach, associated ineligible costs, and a shrinking marketplace for familial investigating products arsenic contributing factors.

The ineligible fallout from the breach is not afloat resolved. A abstracted state-court suit brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta targets Chrome Holding Co., with Bonta's bureau arguing that the institution neglected known information vulnerabilities earlier the breach and deceived customers astir its afloat scope, according to Gizmodo. Chrome Holding has petitioned the bankruptcy tribunal to halt the authorities proceedings, though nary ruling connected that petition has been issued.