Data Archiving Standards Need To Be Future-Proofed

storagedude writes Imagine in the not-too-distant future, your entire genome is on archival storage and accessed by your doctors for critical medical decisions. You'd want that data to be safe from hackers and data corruption, wouldn't you? Oh, and it would need to be error-free and accessible for about a hundred years too. The problem is, we currently don't have the data integrity, security and format migration standards to ensure that, according to Henry Newman at Enterprise Storage Forum. Newman calls for standards groups to add new features like collision-proof hash to archive interfaces and software.

'It will not be long until your genome is tracked from birth to death. I am sure we do not want to have genome objects hacked or changed via silent corruption, yet this data will need to be kept maybe a hundred or more years through a huge number of technology changes. The big problem with archiving data today is not really the media, though that too is a problem. The big problem is the software that is needed and the standards that do not yet exist to manage and control long-term data,' writes Newman.

Comments

Nope

[ColdWetDog]

While there certainly is an issue with data integrity and retention, it is unlikely that anyone will need their entire DNA sequence "stored" for future use. It's becoming clear that the DNA you're born with isn't the same as the DNA you have when they recycle you. Further, medicine doesn't need your entire genome. Just the part that the doctor (or whatever they're called at that point in time) is interested in.

It is far more likely that you will be resequenced as needed.

Besides, you won't be able to afford it anyway.