While the hackers were only able to get into about 14,000 accounts, or 0.1 percent of its customers, they were able to see information shared by genetically linked relatives at 23andMe, a spokesperson said in reply to an AFP inquiry.

23andMe is in the process of notifying affected customers and has hardened account security by requiring users to reset passwords and set up a second authentication method such as sending a temporary code to a mobile phone, according to the spokesperson.