TORONTO, July 20, 2015 — The cheating website Ashley Madison has been hacked. The website claims to have 37 million members and has bragged about its data security in past.
A hacking group calling itself ‘The Impact Team’ is threatening to expose the identities of the users.
The personal details of more than 37 million cheating spouses on the website Ashley Madison have been obtained by a hacker group that are threatening to release nude photos and sexual fantasies of the site’s clients unless the cheating website is shut down.
Hackers were protesting the fact that Ashley Madison refuses to delete user data and accounts when requested, unless users pay what is essentially a blackmail fee of $19. Turns out even when users asked for their data to be deleted, it was never done and their information was still on an online computer.
The hackers posted a small sample of sensitive data, along with a statement demanding the takedown of Ashley Madison and Established Men, an online dating site that claims to connect “young, beautiful women with successful men”. The data and the statement have since been taken offline.
So far, though, it isn’t easy to find the exposed cheaters online. That could change soon if the hackers decide to publish the information on a public website.
Today the website for cheaters released the following statement (Updated press release follows):
We were recently made aware of an attempt by an unauthorized party to gain access to our systems. We immediately launched a thorough investigation utilizing leading forensics experts and other security professionals to determine the origin, nature, and scope of this incident.
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, with Avid Life Media being only the latest among many companies to have been attacked, despite investing in the latest privacy and security technologies.
We have always had the confidentiality of our customers’ information foremost in our minds, and have had stringent security measures in place, including working with leading IT vendors from around the world. As other companies have experienced, these security measures have unfortunately not prevented this attack to our system.
At this time, we have been able to secure our sites, and close the unauthorized access points. We are working with law enforcement agencies, which are investigating this criminal act. Any and all parties responsible for this act of cyber–terrorism will be held responsible.
Avid Life Media has the utmost confidence in its business, and with the support of leading experts in IT security, including Joel Eriksson, CTO, Cycura, we will continue to be a leader in the services we provide. “I have worked with leading companies around the world to secure their businesses. I have no doubt, based on the work I and my company are doing, Avid Life Media will continue to be a strong, secure business,” Eriksson said.
SOURCE Avid Life Media, Inc.
UPDATED Statement, 12:25 p.m.: We were recently made aware of an attempt by an unauthorized party to gain access to our systems. We apologize for this unprovoked and criminal intrusion into our customers’ information. We have always had the confidentiality of our customers’ information foremost in our minds, and have had stringent security measures in place, including working with leading IT vendors from around the world.
At this time, we have been able to secure our sites, and close the unauthorized access points. We are working with law enforcement agencies, which are investigating this criminal act. Any and all parties responsible for this act of cyber–terrorism will be held responsible. Using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), our team has now successfully removed the posts related to this incident as well as all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about our users published online.
Contrary to current media reports, and based on accusations posted online by a cyber criminal, the “paid-delete” option offered by AshleyMadison.com does in fact remove all information related to a member’s profile and communications activity. The process involves a hard-delete of a requesting user’s profile, including the removal of posted pictures and all messages sent to other system users’ email boxes. This option was developed due to specific member requests for just such a service, and designed based on their feedback.
As our customers’ privacy is of the utmost concern to us, we are now offering our full-delete option free to any member, in light of today’s news.
