DNA Motif Finding Method Without Protection Can Leak User Privacy

DNA sequence analysis plays an important role in the study of gene regulatory networks. DNA motif finding has become a key discipline in the post-gene era and gradually become a research hotspot by mining key gene sequences corresponding to disease mechanism and important biological functions. However, the research of DNA motif finding is faced with a huge problem of privacy disclosure. DNA motif finding technology cannot manage and use data well under controllable conditions, and the mining process of DNA motif finding itself is prone to reveal private information such as individual traits, characteristics and disease defects. In this paper, we presented an overview of the privacy breaching of DNA motif finding, summarized the main methods and tools of the current DNA motif finding, analyzed its privacy risks, and used two case studies to verify that the DNA motif finding may identify individual privacy information. Finally, we discussed the privacy protection methods for motif finding and proposed the privacy protection solutions.