Ashley Madision founder resigns from cheat website
TORONTO — Ashley Madison has made public relations mistakes, but forgiveness may be out of reach for the adultery website as it hopes to salvage relationships with its members following the departure of CEO Noel Biderman.
The Toronto-based website announced Friday that Biderman had stepped down from the company he founded 14 years ago after a cyberattack left the personal details of its customers exposed to hackers.
His exit marks what could be the first step for the company on a long road of challenges.
“This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees,” Ashley Madison said in a statement Friday.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base.”
Ashley Madison and Biderman mutually agreed he should step down, the statement said. The company did not return messages for comment.
What remains to be seen is whether Ashley Madison can mend a damaged reputation that was built primarily on secrecy and trust. “Basically, I think the brand is dead,” said Bill Walker, president of crisis consultancy film MidtownPR in Toronto.
“It has gone from a place you go to cheat anonymously to the place where everybody gossips about it. No matter what you think of it in terms of its morality, they made a brand promise to people and failed to fulfil it.”
The website, which facilitates extramarital affairs for a membership fee, was the victim last month of hackers who stole a list of names purported to be users of Ashley Madison, claiming the company refused to bow to their demands to shutdown the business. The hackers also claimed to have exposed data on millions of spouses who signed up.
Only a few months ago, Ashley Madison was riding high on its reputation as a portal for married people to connect discreetly online. Biderman was talking up his plans to take the company public on the London Stock Exchange, an effort he said would help it grow into new markets.
When news that hackers infiltrated the company’s computer systems spread online, details began to emerge about some of its questionable business practices, such as charging its customers extra money to completely delete their accounts, even though they were still being saved in a database.