Affairs, Adultery & Spying Artificial Intelligence

Ashley Madison: Hackers Release More Data

amm

Ashley Madison: Hackers Release More Data

As many of you will know, in mid-July of this year the infidelity website AshleyMadison.com, which enables married people to find partners with whom to conduct secret affairs, was the target of hackers who released certain user information to the public.
Earlier this week, the culprits struck again, releasing a second larger “dump” of data that reveals not only information on the users’ identity, but other sensitive information as well.

The group taking credit is known as “Impact Team”; it had initially targeted Ashley Madison’s Toronto-based parent company, Avid Life Media, claiming that it had ripped off customers by charging them a $19 fee to delete their data permanently, but then not actually deleting it. Alleging that the false “full delete” service had netted the company $1.7 million in 2014, Impact Team then threatened to release more data if the entire site was not disabled permanently.

The most recent data exposure releases information on approximately 32 million Ashley Madison users – the vast majority of whom are male – and includes their names, usernames, addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth. It also includes users’ own descriptions of themselves in profiles they would have set up during registration (e.g. “Let’s start as friends….”) as well as sensitive credit card information, login details and passwords.
Apparently, the latest release also reveals certain emails linked to the website’s founder and chief executive of the parent company, Noel Biderman.

Needless to say, from a public-interest standpoint, the data breach and its fallout have been particularly “sexy” fodder for discussion (pun intended); it has raised sort of legal issues and water-cooler chat relating data integrity, privacy, and criminality, not to mention the more obvious social issues relating to infidelity, ethics and morality.

But even leaving aside the more salacious aspects of the divulged information, at the very least it shows the widespread prevalence of actual or potential cheaters and hints at the question of whether society’s appetite and tolerance for infidelity has changed. Indeed, using the latest release of Ashley Madison user data some socially-curious minds have even “run the numbers” to generate a worldwide map that illustrates the distribution of assumed cheaters across the globe.

Interesting stuff.

What are your thoughts?

To learn more, we have written several blogs on adultery and affairs, including:

Adultery and Affairs

Man Gives Woman $130K: Was it a Post-Infidelity Symbol of Commitment? Or Was He Buying an Interest in Her Home?

In a Failed Romance, Can You Sue for Negligence?

Can You Sue Your Ex’s Affair Partner for Damages?

Was Wife the “Target of a Campaign of Terror” at the Hands of Husband’s Mistress?

Gambling, Drinking and Affairs – Should Spouses Have to Account for their Misdeeds?

Top Five Points About Adultery That You Probably Didn’t Know

Stay in Touch

Keep learning about the latest issues in Ontario family law! Subscribe to our newsletter, have our latest articles delivered to your inbox, or listen to our Podcast Family Law Now.

Be sure to find out more about the "new normal", by visiting our Covid-19 and Divorce Information Centre.

About the author

Russell Alexander

Russell Alexander is the Founder & Senior Partner of Russell Alexander Collaborative Family Lawyers.