U.S. Gov. to Track
Your Genetic Fingerprints in Real-time
DARPA plans to track the genetic fingerprint of all humans through taxpayers funded project ECHO 1.
Their platform allows a person’s entire biologic timestamp tracked and documented. All substances or biological agents the individual came into contact with, known 2.
“The human body registers exposures and logs them in the epigenome … We are just beginning to understand this rich biographical record that we carry around with us.”
Eric Van Gieson ECHO program manager
The danger, real-time genetic records using an operator with little to no training. If we look back at the track record of federal government hiring policies, this becomes a more significant issue than most realize. Think Census Bureau 2010 onward when they hired sex offenders and felons to enter the homes of American citizens 3.
And it’s these individuals who will help bring this draconian technology to life. To build their baseline, they must collect pre and post-exposure readings. To date, two ways exist for data collection. One, a finger prick test, and two, a nasal swab just like the PCR deployed worldwide.
To develop this capability, researchers will have to assemble a foundational training dataset of pre- and post-exposure epigenetic readouts in biological samples.
The concern with ECHO technology comes down to real-time surveillance of whatever they consider an emerging threat. Not only can they reconstruct a person’s history, but they will also know everything environmental the target came in contact with long after the physical evidence is gone. Due to the severe privacy issue, DARPA consulted ethical and legal experts on the matter 4 because they can read genetic fingerprints on the fly 5.
The end goal of ECHO is to build a field-deployable device that can test small biological samples—such as a drop of blood or nasal swab—for evidence of epigenetic “fingerprints” that reveal a detailed history of that individual’s exposure to dangerous materials or pathogens.
It’s a complete invasion of privacy on steroids, so much for HIPPA laws.
Dr. Eric Van Gieson. n.d. “Epigenetic CHaracterization and Observation.” DARPA. Accessed April 28, 2021. https://www.darpa.mil/program/epigenetic-characterization-and-observation.
“WMD Detection, Epigenome, DARPA.” 2018. Homeland Security News Wire. February 9, 2018. http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20180209-epigenetic-technology-to-help-in-fight-against-wmd-proliferation.
WATCH, JUDICIAL. 2019. “Census Bureau Still Hiring Felons, Child Sex Offenders Pass Background Check.” Legal. Judicial Watch. December 17, 2019. https://www.judicialwatch.org/corruption-chronicles/census-bureau-still-hiring-felons-child-sex-offenders-pass-background-check/.
“WMD Detection, Epigenome, DARPA.” 2018. Homeland Security News Wire. February 9, 2018. http://www.homelandsecuritynewswire.com/dr20180209-epigenetic-technology-to-help-in-fight-against-wmd-proliferation.
Ken Kingery. 2019. “Identifying the Epigenetic Fingerprints of Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Duke Pratt School of Engineering. September 12, 2019. https://pratt.duke.edu/about/news/darpa-echo.