To put it simply: Bioinformatics is the usage of computer software to study biological information and methods. This field has recently experienced massive growth. along with that rapid growth has come critical privacy and security issues. the reason for so much concern is that genomic information is the ultimate identification tool, it also carries extra risk because it can also be used to implicate those who are closely related to you.
The increased usage of large-scale genomic databases has allowed researchers to make incredible advances in understanding and treating disease, but it has also brought up fear of discrimination and loss of privacy. the process of de-identification is the industry standard to protect the identity of individuals. However, the concern of the data being re-identified has also proven to be a legitimate fear.
““Bioinformatics is the research, development, or application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health data, including those to acquire, store, organize, archive, analyze, or visualize such data.””
