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  • LOL: Millions of Cheaters Exposed After Massive Ashley Madison Data Hack

    07.20.2015 | News | |

    Ashley Madison is the name of an online dating site. And if you’ve never heard of this all-infifelity-all-the-time site, it’s infamous slogan is: Life is short. Have an affair.

    The world-famous hookup site, which boasts a membership of 40 million users, was hacked over the weekend. The massive data breach gave hackers “sensitive internal data” from Avid Life Media (ALM), Ashley Madison’s Toronto-based parent company, Krebs on Security reports.

    The team of talented hackers who pulled off this stunt call themselves, “The Impact Team.” They managed to uncover “maps of internal company servers, employee network account information, company bank account data and salary information.” That doesn’t include the mountains of personal information gained from Ashley Madison’s sister sites, Cougar Life and Established Men.

    For years Ashley Madison obtained success selling anonymity while promising the best appearance in the glitzy underworld of infidelity-focused sex sprees. But that could all come crashing down.

    “We’ve got the complete set of profiles in our DB dumps, and we’ll release them soon if Ashley Madison stays online,” the hackers promised. “And with over 37 million members, mostly from the US and Canada, a significant percentage of the population is about to have a very bad day, including many rich and powerful people.”

    The hack is believed to have been promoted by a “Full Delete” feature Ashley Madison is selling for $19. Turns out that the full delete option doesn’t forbid Ashely Madison from stockpiling your name, address, and other data.

    Ashley Madison’s CEO Noel Biderman called the data breach “a criminal act.”

    Here’s the graphic the hackers sent to Biderman and his executive team:

    impactteam-580x657

    An Avid Life Media spokesperson said, “We apologize for this unprovoked and criminal intrusion into our customers’ information. The current business world has proven to be one in which no company’s online assets are safe from cyber-vandalism.”

    As if this story wasn’t sad (and funny) enough, Ashley Madison actually applauded itself last year for being the safest online dating site money could buy.

    Tech blogger Robert Scoble heard this story and posted a rather braggadocious email from Ashley Madison, sent to reporters in 2014, patting itself on the back for being “the last truly secure space on the Internet.”

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    #FAIL


    Jerome Hudson

    Managing Editor

    Jerome Hudson has written for numerous national outlets, including The Hill, National Review, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was recognized as one of Florida’s emerging stars, having been included in the list “25 Under 30: Florida’s Rising Young Political Class.” Hudson is a Savannah, Ga. native who currently resides in Florida.

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