Online dating and hookup website Adult FriendFinder has been hacked, with data thieves having stolen information and nude photos of up to 4 million users.
Adult FriendFinder itself is branded as a "thriving sex community," and offers users the ability to meet up for casual sex. As such, it is easy to imagine why the information stolen from user accounts would be extremely sensitive.
"As is common with similar cyber attack events, until the investigation is completed, it will be difficult to confirm the full scope of the incident, but we will continue to work vigilantly to address this potential issue and will provide updates on this site as we learn more from our investigation," said Adult FriendFinder in a statement. "Protecting our members' information is our top priority and we will continue to take the appropriate steps needed to protect our members and their information."
While being hacked is bad enough, users have reportedly been receiving spam emails from hackers and there are fears that the hackers will use the information that they have gathered in order to blackmail users.
"Where you've got names, dates of birth, ZIP codes, then that provides an opportunity to actually target specific individuals whether they be in government or healthcare for example, so you can profile that person and send more targeted blackmail-type emails," said cybersecurity expert Charlie McMurdie.
According to reports, the hack isn't even very recent, with evidence suggesting that the hack actually occurred over a month ago. The connection to the website was first made by a reporter looking into the "dark web," which is the part of the Internet largely used for criminals and criminal activity.
Adult FriendFinder itself requires users to sign up with their gender and which gender they want to have sex with. Users are also prompted to share private information about specific things that they like during sex, information that many would not want shared with others. Some users have even mentioned on the website that they are currently in relationships. Others are members of a government or army, essentially making blackmail a very real possibility.
The company is working with security expert Mandiant, whose parent company, FireEye, has worked on a number of high-profile hacks in the past, including hacks involving the likes of JP Morgan Chase, Target and even the Sony hack from late last year.
Adult FriendFinder itself has over 64 million users, and it is unknown if hackers targeted specific users or simply took information at random.
