After an audit by the Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance (OTA), 23andMe was honored for protection, security and privacy of customer data. 23andMe was named to the OTA “Honor Roll” overall, and ranked #1 in the Healthcare category. The OTA published the results earlier this month. 
The Honor Roll is the OTA’s de facto standard for recognizing excellence in consumer protection, security, and responsible privacy practices for the world’s top companies.
“Protecting the privacy and security of our customers’ data is at the core of what we do here at 23andMe,” said Ashutosh Agrawal, 23andMe’s Senior Manager for Security & Privacy Compliance. “So seeing how we compare to the healthcare industry as a whole is validation of all the hard work and our security and privacy practices. Finishing tops in the Healthcare category is also a great recognition.”
The Internet Society is a global nonprofit dedicated to ensuring an open, globally connected, trustworthy, and secure Internet for everyone. The purpose of the group’s audit is to both identify and promote best security and privacy practices for handling consumer data. 23andMe and other public and private organizations, vendors, researchers, and policymakers all contribute to and follow OTA’s guidance. The intent is to help make online transactions safer and better protect users’ data.
The audit compared security and privacy practices of more than 1200 organizations. In addition to ranking at the top among Healthcare companies and organizations, 23andMe was ranked in the top 50 of all groups.
Currently this is looked at as the most comprehensive outside audit, and offers an independent online benchmark. It evaluates websites in three main categories: domain, brand and consumer protection; site, server and infrastructure security; and privacy, transparency and disclosures. Based on a composite weighted analysis, sites that scored 80 percent or better overall, without failing in any one category, received the honor roll designation (read the entire methodology here).
“In this age where many companies are accused of putting profits ahead of customers, the websites that made the Honor Roll should be commended for their commitment to online trust,” said Jeff Wilbur, Technical Director of the Online Trust Alliance initiative at the Internet Society. “This designation shows that you can be one of the world’s most successful businesses without sacrificing consumer privacy, protection, and security.”
More details about the 2018 OTA Online Trust Audit and Honor Roll is at https://otalliance.org/2018HonorRoll.
More About OTA
The Internet Society’s Online Trust Alliance (OTA) identifies and promotes security and privacy best practices that build consumer confidence in the Internet. Leading public and private organizations, vendors, researchers, and policymakers contribute to and follow OTA’s guidance to help make online transactions safer and better protect users’ data. The Internet Society is a global nonprofit dedicated to ensuring an open, globally connected, trustworthy, and secure Internet for everyone.
