The criminal, or criminals, involved in this act have appointed themselves as the moral judge, juror, and executioner, seeing fit to impose a personal notion of virtue on all of society.
— Avid Life Media, owner of AshleyMadison.com, in a statement Tuesday after hackers posted online the information of more than 30 million customers of the dating website that encourages people to have affairs. Last month, hackers announced they had attacked the site and demanded that it be taken down, along with another site called Established Men, which is a site for sugar daddies. The hackers, who call themselves the Impact Team, took action a couple of days ago because the sites had not been taken down.
We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data, the hackers said on sites such as Pirate Bay and Reddit.
There s inevitable delighting-in-other-people s-pain reaction to the data dump: Cheaters gonna get cheated (or similar sentiments) is a common theme in reaction on the Twittersphere. But some — including experts who say the data seems legit — seem to agree with Ashley Madison that in this culture of public naming and shaming, this is no laughing matter.
George Anderson, director at cybersecurity firm Webroot, told the Guardian: While readers morals may conflict either seeing this group of hackers as good or bad guys, the fact remains that Impact Team illegally obtained sensitive personal info.
The possible damage is serious: Business Insider s Rob Price points out that the information — which includes names, contact information, dating profiles and more — could subject customers to blackmail, threats and physical danger for users who might live in places where adultery is illegal.
What s more, innocent people could get caught up in the whole thing. A security expert wrote last month on Graham Cluley s security news site that Ashley Madison didn t used to verify its customers email addresses — and pointed out that some single people used the site as well.
And others are questioning possibly ruining the lives of people who have made mistakes: If we do screw up eventually, do we want our future personal failings to be judged and prosecuted by a self-righteous mob who may or may not share our values and ideas about right and wrong? Heather Havrilesky wrote last month for New York Magazine s The Cut.
But the Ashley Madison hackers don t just have a problem with infidelity, they are slamming what they say was Avid Life Media s failure to keep their customer data secure: Find yourself in here? It was ALM that failed you and lied to you. Prosecute them and claim damages. Then move on with your life. Learn your lesson and make amends. Embarrassing now, but you ll get over it. Good luck with that.
Above: Screenshot from AshleyMadison.com
