Affair- enabling website is said to be hacked
Hackers are threatening to expose data on more than 30 million users of Ashley-Madison. com, a website targeted to cheating spouses known for its tagline “Life is short. Have an affair.”
A group of hackers called the Impact Team reportedly has posted some data and is demanding that parent company Avid Life Media shut down Ashley Madison and a sister site, Established Men. com, according to Krebs on Security, ablog run by former Washington Post reporter Brian Krebs.
The Toronto- based Avid Life Media said Monday that it had closed the breach in its computer system and was working with law enforcement. Avid Life didn’t say howthe hackers got in.
In a manifesto obtained by Krebs, the hackers said, “Avid Life Media has been instructed to take Ashley Madison and Established Men offline permanently in all forms, or we will release all customer records, including profiles with all the customers’ secret sexual fantasies and matching credit card transactions, real names and addresses, and employee documents and emails.”
In a prepared statement, the company apologized, adding, “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.”
Of course, a hack is especially damaging for Ashley-Madison and Established-Men, as it e that Avid Life Media says connects “ambitious and attractive young women with successful and generous benefactors to fulfill their lifestyle needs.”
Privacy is paramount to the company’s business strategy. Ashley-Madison has been adding users so rapidly itwas considering an initial public offering.
The hackers said they targeted the sites in response to a feature called “full delete” in which users can erase personal information for a $ 19 fee. The Impact Team said the sites retained purchase details with names.
Two months ago, another hook- up site, Adult-Friend-Finder, was reportedly hacked, exposing 3.5 million user accounts.