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July 20, 2015 – This is perhaps the most tawdry data breach we’ve ever seen. The hack of Ashley Madison, the online “dating “site for cheaters, threatens to expose victims to a lot more than just identity theft or fraud. There is a very good chance that the exposed data could lead to string of divorces nationwide as the breach threatens to expose personal details of 37 million registered users.
Ashley Madison’s site motto is “Life is short. Have an affair.” They may have to change that something like “Data breaches are expensive, but not as expensive as your divorce.” Yes, I know that’s not a very good motto but give me a little time. I’m sure that I can come up with something more creative.
Knowing what we know today about data security, you’d think that most people would think long and hard before they registered using their real identity on a website that caters to their baser instincts. But apparently, there are millions of people have been willing to take that gamble. They may very well turn out to be losers in the end.
The hack was carried out by a group calling themselves The Impact Team, and they have already released a small amount of data to prove that their hack was successful. They are claiming that they hacked the company because of a service that they offer called Complete Delete. That service allows subscribers to the site to delete all of their registration information for a fee of $19. According to the hackers, Complete Delete is actually a fraud; leaving payment information, home addresses and other personally identifiable information on the site.
Ashley Madison is owned by Toronto based Avid Life Media. That company also operates two other “hook up” sites; Cougar Life and Established Men.
The hackers are demanding that Avid Life Media permanently shut down Ashley Madison and Established Men. They have said that if the company doesn’t agree to their demands, they will release some data for each day that the sites remain open.
byJim Malmberg
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