Indirect PI — Genetic / DNA Data Exfiltration via Agent Email
An AI agent that can read documents and send email can be hijacked by hidden text embedded in content it processes. That text tells the agent to ignore its real instructions, fetch a person's genetic test results, and email them to an address the attacker controls.
How the attack works
An attacker plants text in something the agent will read — a document, webpage, or email — containing an override phrase like 'IMPORTANT!!! Ignore all previous instructions.' The injected text names a genetic data source such as 23andMe, AncestryDNA, or a raw DNA file, and instructs the agent to send that data by email to a specific recipient. If the agent has both file/data access and email-sending capability, it can carry out both steps without the user seeing or approving the request. The result is genetic data leaving the user's environment under the guise of a normal agent task.
Netzilo detection
Netzilo reports this behaviour when it is observed.
- Signature ID
- 9dd2ccae-b8f8-44c0-a53e-736be3293538
- Severity
- Critical
Why it matters
Genetic data is permanent and uniquely identifying — it cannot be reset like a password. Leaked DNA data can be used for insurance or employment discrimination, identity fraud, or exposure of relatives who never consented, and once sent it cannot be recalled.
What you can do
- →Require explicit user confirmation before an agent sends email or shares files containing genetic or other highly sensitive personal data.
- →Restrict which data sources an agent can read in the same session where it also has email-send capability.
- →Treat any embedded 'ignore previous instructions' phrasing in agent-consumed content as a red flag and log or block it.
- →Review agent logs for outbound emails referencing DNA services or raw genetic file formats to unfamiliar recipients.
Known benign look-alikes
- Genetic counselor service sending a patient their own DNA report via secure email
- Security research documentation about genetic data privacy risks
- Bioinformatics workflow documentation referencing 23andMe data formats