"When people start talking about personal data, they forget where their data is already sitting," says Rob Lee, chief of research and head of faculty at SANS Institute, which specializes in helping businesses with information security and cyber issues. Whether it's sending a blood sample into a private lab or getting rid of a laptop to upgrade to a new one, "your digital footprints are being left out there for people to find," Lee said. "People don't understand the scope, so there is a larger discussion out there, specifically around where does data go?"
With DNA information, there are certain basic legal factors people should weigh before swabbing themselves and sending the sample in.