Making good on about a month-old threat, hackers have dumped a massive cache of user data from affair finder Ashley Madison and they've promised there's more where that came from. While the shock value of the intrusion has been muted by similar attacks, such as those launched against OKCupid and Adult Friend Finder, this one has the potential to push divorce rates up.
Last Wednesday, a trove of email and billing addresses from Ashley Madison and sugar daddy search site Established men accounts were dumped onto the Internet. About 32 million people are believed to have been compromised by the intrusions on the sites, both owned by Avid Life Media.
As has been the case with other major leaks, opportunist have sorted and indexed the sensitive materials into new ad-filled sites. On such sites, visitors can scan the cache of leaked information to find familiar names.
The fallout is still in the air, but the full effects of the nuclear-grade strike on the Avid Life Media are still to be fully realized. Some expect to see chronic issues related to the findings, namely mistrust and divorce, and divorce lawyers are gearing up for overtime, according to Steve Mindel, a divorce lawyer based in Los Angeles.
"We're all saying: 'It's going to be Christmas in September,'" Mindel said. "Pretty soon all of this stuff is going to surface and there's going to be a lot of filings for divorce directly as a result of this."
For the victims, the extortion attempts have already begun. One user, who would only share his first name, said was worried by the spam-like email he received requested about $225 in bitcoin to keep his Ashley Madison information away from his wife. But the user, "Mac," said he's afraid of what's to come next.
"So they have my home billing address and first and last name, so it would be relatively easy for them to get my home records and figure out who I am," Mac said. "I'll accept the consequences if this does get disclosed, but obviously I'd rather not have that happen because my wife and I are both very happy in our marriage."
The hackers behind the Ashley Madison incident are believed to be motivated by morality, at least to a degree, and may be compromised of some former members of the infidelity facilitator.
Not only does Ashley Madison help married people cheat, it also charges $20 to users for wiping accounts in full. But even when people pay to have the evidence wiped, the site still holds onto some critical information.
"Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men," stated the hackers in a note included with the leaked data. "We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data."
