There might have been a surge of divorce cases filed by lawyers in the last few weeks, following the release of private details of clients of the infidelity site, Ashley Madison.
As an anonymous group of hackers dumped the second batch of data from Ashley Madison just before the weekend, the company is facing a $578 million class-action lawsuit, as previously reported on HNGN.
Large scale hacks have happened on government and corporate sites in the past, but the hack on Ashley Madison is different as it involves information of private citizens. The move is unprecedented and it affects everyone's online activities, one way or another.
Who is behind this act?
They call themselves the Impact Team and they made their presence known last month when the group posted a video telling the world they have taken control of Canada's Avid Life Media's (ALM) data, the company that owns and operates Ashley Madison.
"We have hacked them completely, taking over their entire office and production domains and thousands of systems, and over the past few years have taken all customer information databases, complete source code repositories, financial records, documentation, and emails, as we prove here," their statement read, according to CSO Online.
What is their motive?
The group said that ALM "profits on the pain of others." The company allegedly promised secrecy to its clients by offering to permanently delete their profiles on the adultery website for a fee. Impact Team said this deletion never happened.
How many are affected?
Ashley Madison has over 39 million members and security experts working for the company said that at least 36 million accounts have been breached, according to Bloomberg.
Many of these accounts are inactive or bogus, but there are also prominent people involved, like TV personalities and U.S. Congressmen, according to BBC.
What is ALM doing to secure its sites now?
They have gotten help from security experts and are in the process of auditing "vulnerabilities and backdoors," according to the National Post.
Who is interested in the data?
Government investigations are reportedly underway, especially since many of the emails used are government emails, according to CNN Money.
Spouses who may have suspected their partner is cheating are also interested in the data breach and this could be cited in divorce cases.
How does this case impact other people?
Apart from the expected increase in divorces, there are other implications. "I am from a country where homosexuality carries the death penalty. I studied in America the last several years and used Ashley Madison during that time. I was single, but used it because I am gay," wrote one anonymous Reddit member, a gay man living in Saudi Arabia and a user of Ashley Madison. " I am about to be killed, tortured, or exiled and I did nothing wrong. ... Even if the adulterers deserve it, I do not."
Military workers are also in jeopardy, as they can be persecuted for adultery if their account on Ashley Madison are proven real. Adultery is a direct violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to the Alabama Media Group.
Unscrupulous people are already using the data leak for extortion and blackmail, according to The Verge.
