"Ashley Madison" website hacked

Ryujin

Legend

• Jul 20, 2015

• #1

For those of you who don't know what Ashley Madison is, it's a Canadian based website for people who are looking for an affair. In other words is facilitates people cheating on their spouse. Well today it was announced that the site's user data has been hacked. So far they've released some credit card numbers, to prove that they have the data, and there may well be a data dump of the user information coming soon.

That's something like 37 million users who almost certainly have something to hide.

The claimed reason for the hack is to prove that the site wasn't actually permanently deleting the data of former users, who paid a fee to have their information scrubbed from the site. I predict a banner year for divorce lawyers.

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/07/online-cheating-site-ashleymadison-hacked/

 

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Dioltach

Legend

• Jul 20, 2015

• #2

You know, it amazes me that there's enough of a market for companies like this to operate. All those millions of people who deliberately set out to cheat on their partners. I can understand cheating as an impulse, or something that grows gradually with someone you know, but to sit down one day and say, "Today I'm going to sign up to cheat on my wife"?

 

Ryujin

Legend

• Jul 20, 2015

• #3

The existence of companies like this doesn't surprise me at all. As abhorrent as I find this sort of thing, they're just capitalizing on the self absorption of today's culture. It is interesting, though, on an academic level. If users are paying to have their data securely removed and that isn't being done, then there's the potential for a ruinous class action lawsuit by these users. If they can work up the nerve to admit that they used the site in the first place, that is.

 

Dannyalcatraz

Schmoderator

Staff member

Supporter

• Jul 20, 2015

• #4

Well, if the data dump reveals enough identities...

Besides, as I recall, you don't necessarily have to reveal your identity to be a part of a class-action suit.

 

D

Dioltach

Legend

• Jul 20, 2015

• #5

"The Plaintiffs, Big Dog 69, Well Hung, Sweet Lips, Moaner Lisa, Perpetuum Mobile, Mr Sausage, Arthur McIntyre and Make You Scream, all with no fixed abode ..."

 

Morrus

Well, that was fun

Staff member

• Jul 20, 2015

• #6

Blimey. I bet there's a lot of people panicking right now!

I find it bizarre that they protest the company's non-deletion of data by punishing the victims* by releasing their data.

*"Victims" used in the most ironic possible way

 

Ryujin

Legend

• Jul 20, 2015

• #7

Morrus said:

Blimey. I bet there's a lot of people panicking right now!

I find it bizarre that they protest the company's non-deletion of data by punishing the victims* by releasing their data.

*"Victims" used in the most ironic possible way

Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't see how they could prove that the company wasn't deleting the data, without showing the undeleted data. However abhorrent I find their business it's still computer trespass, and needs to be prosecuted.

 

J

Janx

Hero

• Jul 20, 2015

• #8

Morrus said:

Blimey. I bet there's a lot of people panicking right now!

I find it bizarre that they protest the company's non-deletion of data by punishing the victims* by releasing their data.

*"Victims" used in the most ironic possible way

Click to expand...

I would imagine the hacker is executing on a number of goals. Nailing a company for violating a policy is just one benefit. Nailing a ton of cheaters is quite possibly the real goal.

 

Homicidal_Squirrel

Adventurer

• Jul 20, 2015

• #9

Didn't something like this happen a couple of months ago to the same site?

 

Ryujin

Legend

• Jul 20, 2015

• #10

Homicidal_Squirrel said:

Didn't something like this happen a couple of months ago to the same site?

Click to expand...

Not the same site but there was another recent hack of another dating site; Adult Friend Finder.