Ashley Madison hackers take huge social toll, cops say
The dire consequences for victims of the massive cyberattack on Toronto-based infidelity website Ashley Madison include hate crimes, extortion attempts and possibly suicide.
“This is not fun and games,” Toronto police Staff Supt. Bryce Evans said Monday at a news conference about last week’s data dump by the hacker group calling itself the Impact Team.
The initial release of personal information of the site’s more than 30 million users has resulted in a multitude of “spinoff” crimes, Evans said.
The sophisticated hack has sparked online hate crimes, online scams and may be related to two unconfirmed reports of suicide, Evans said.
“The ripple effect of the Impact Team’s actions has and will continue to have long-term social and economic impacts and they have already sparked spinoffs of crimes and further victimization.”
Toronto Police said they could not confirm U.S. media reports that a police captain in San Antonio, Texas, killed himself after the leak linked his official email address to an Ashley Madison account.
Attack on infidelity site has sparked spinoff crimes and has reportedly been linked to suicides. The site’s owners are now offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to an arrest
Some of those listed as customers are now being threatened with exposure unless payment is received, Evans said.
Hackers are also sending virus-infected links claiming to access the leaked information.
Another online scam tells people that their names can be removed from the list for a fee, which is impossible, Evans said.
The website’s Toronto-based parent company, Avid Life Media, is offering a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the cyber attack.
Avid Life issued a statement Monday saying it is confident that investigators will solve the “unprecedented crime,” but added it is offering payment because more outside help is needed.
“In the very best interest of our customers, who have been affected by this malicious act, we are firmly committed to fully assisting these law enforcement and investigative authorities, without reserve,” it said.
Evans also reached out to the hacking community to “do the right thing,” and pass along any information they have about the breach.
“The Impact Team has gone over the line and I’m just asking them to use their moral judgment and their values to help us if they can through their ways on the deep dark web.”
Police were tight-lipped on the extent of their knowledge of how the hack happened.
However, they did say employees who logged into their computers on July 12 were greeted with a threatening message, while AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” played.
The message ordered Avid Life to “immediately and permanently” shut down Ashley Madison and sis- ter site Established Men, which the hackers called a “prostitution/human trafficking website.”
The message said the hackers had taken over Ashley Madison’s office and thousands of systems over the past few years and had access to customer profiles, nude pictures, conversations, addresses and credit card information.
The company did not comply with the hackers’ ultimatum to take down the sites and Impact Team made good on its threat.
The group has also released internal company emails and on Monday cyber security blog Krebs on Security claims it discovered that the company’s leadership had hacked into rival dating site, nerve.com, in 2012. The company declined to comment beyond its statement.
Toronto police, who are working in conjunction with other law enforce- ment teams, including the FBI, provided a list of seven Criminal Code offences the hackers could face. Canada’s privacy commissioner’s office said Monday it is also launching an investigation into the security breach.
Speaking to the Impact Team, Evans said “this is your wake-up call,” adding law enforcement have good leads and the investigation is “progressing in a positive fashion.”