Large caches of data stolen from online cheating site AshleyMadison.com have been posted online by an individual or group that claims to have completely compromised the company’s user databases, financial records and other proprietary information. The still-unfolding leak could be quite damaging to some 37 million users of the hookup service, whose slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair.”
The data released by the hacker or hackers — which self-identify as The Impact Team — includes sensitive internal data stolen from Avid Life Media (ALM), the Toronto-based firm that owns AshleyMadison as well as related hookup sites Cougar Life and Established Men.
Reached by KrebsOnSecurity late Sunday evening, ALM Chief Executive Noel Biderman confirmed the hack, and said the company was “working diligently and feverishly” to take down ALM’s intellectual property. Indeed, in the short span of 30 minutes between that brief interview and the publication of this story, several of the Impact Team’s Web links were no longer responding.
“We’re not denying this happened,” Biderman said. “Like us or not, this is still a criminal act.”
Besides snippets of account data apparently sampled at random from among some 40 million users across ALM’s trio of properties, the hackers leaked maps of internal company servers, employee network account information, company bank account data and salary information.
The compromise comes less than two months after intruders stole and leaked online user data on millions of accounts from hookup site AdultFriendFinder.
In a long manifesto posted alongside the stolen ALM data, The Impact Team said it decided to publish the information in response to alleged lies ALM told its customers about a service that allows members to completely erase their profile information for a $19 fee.
According to the hackers, although the “full delete” feature that Ashley Madison advertises promises “removal of site usage history and personally identifiable information from the site,” users’ purchase details — including real name and address — aren’t actually scrubbed.
“Full Delete netted ALM $1.7mm in revenue in 2014. It’s also a complete lie,” the hacking group wrote. “Users almost always pay with credit card; their purchase details are not removed as promised, and include real name and address, which is of course the most important information the users want removed.”
Their demands continue:
“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. The other websites may stay online.”
A snippet of the message left behind by the Impact Team.
It’s unclear how much of the AshleyMadison user account data has been posted online. For now, it appears the hackers have published a relatively small percentage of AshleyMadison user account data and are planning to publish more for each day the company stays online.
“Too bad for those men, they’re cheating dirtbags and deserve no such discretion,” the hackers continued. “Too bad for ALM, you promised secrecy but didn’t deliver. We’ve got the complete set of profiles in our DB dumps, and we’ll release them soon if Ashley Madison stays online. And with over 37 million members, mostly from the US and Canada, a significant percentage of the population is about to have a very bad day, including many rich and powerful people.”
ALM CEO Biderman declined to discuss specifics of the company’s investigation, which he characterized as ongoing and fast-moving. But he did suggest that the incident may have been the work of someone who at least at one time had legitimate, inside access to the company’s networks — perhaps a former employee or contractor.
“We’re on the doorstep of [confirming] who we believe is the culprit, and unfortunately that may have triggered this mass publication,” Biderman said. “I’ve got their profile right in front of me, all their work credentials. It was definitely a person here that was not an employee but certainly had touched our technical services.”
As if to support this theory, the message left behind by the attackers gives something of a shout out to ALM’s director of security.
“Our one apology is to Mark Steele (Director of Security),” the manifesto reads. “You did everything you could, but nothing you could have done could have stopped this.”
Several of the leaked internal documents indicate ALM was hyper aware of the risks of a data breach. In a Microsoft Excel document that apparently served as a questionnaire for employees about challenges and risks facing the company, employees were asked “In what area would you hate to see something go wrong?”
Trevor Stokes, ALM’s chief technology officer, put his worst fears on the table: “Security,” he wrote. “I would hate to see our systems hacked and/or the leak of personal information.”
In the wake of the AdultFriendFinder breach, many wondered whether AshleyMadison would be next. As the Wall Street Journal noted in a May 2015 brief titled “Risky Business for AshleyMadison.com,” the company had voiced plans for an initial public offering in London later this year with the hope of raising as much as $200 million.
“Given the breach at AdultFriendFinder, investors will have to think of hack attacks as a risk factor,” the WSJ wrote. “And given its business’s reliance on confidentiality, prospective AshleyMadison investors should hope it has sufficiently, er, girded its loins.”
Update, 8:58 a.m. ET: ALM has released the following statement about this attack:
“We were recently made aware of an attempt by an unauthorized party to gain access to our systems. We immediately launched a thorough investigation utilizing leading forensics experts and other security professionals to determine the origin, nature, and scope of this incident.”
“We apologize for this unprovoked and criminal intrusion into our customers’ information. 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.”
“We have always had the confidentiality of our customers’ information foremost in our minds, and have had stringent security measures in place, including working with leading IT vendors from around the world. As other companies have experienced, these security measures have unfortunately not prevented this attack to our system.”
“At this time, we have been able to secure our sites, and close the unauthorized access points. We are working with law enforcement agencies, which are investigating this criminal act. Any and all parties responsible for this act of cyber–terrorism will be held responsible.”
“Avid Life Media has the utmost confidence in its business, and with the support of leading experts in IT security, including Joel Eriksson, CTO, Cycura, we will continue to be a leader in the services we provide. “I have worked with leading companies around the world to secure their businesses. I have no doubt, based on the work I and my company are doing, Avid Life Media will continue to be a strong, secure business,” Eriksson said.”
the site is an absolutely disgusting idea anyway!
There are many schemes in the heart of man nevertheless the counsel of God shall s stand
When exactly did the hack take place? And when exactly did Impact Team post their message? Did AM have knowledge of the hack earlier and wait until now for damage control?
I signed up for an account a few days ago (spare the moralizing — I’m single, and I didn’t meet or even message anyone in the end, so I’m not THAT bad, haha). So I’m wondering if I’m in the clear — i.e. that the hack happened before I signed up and the breach was fixed, but the news only came out now as some damage control for AM. Gonna operate on the idea that my data’s out there, but if anyone has any info that could confirm either way I’d appreciate it.
oh. this is great. I hope these jerks (the creator of this am site) loose everything! what a horrible concept.
For all those moralists: This time they have hacked AM, perhaps next time it will be your bank and all your bank details will be released into the public domain…
To all you moralists? Why wish bank information be sent into the cyber world? Don’t be bitter because you have no morals and are pathetic enough to have to use a website to cheat! Ha!
Infidelity is unethical in our society, however, the unauthorized taking of financial info and attempted blackmail are both criminal acts (felonies). There are no noble actors in this pathetic episode.
it’s not about being a moralist, it’s more about decency and respect for your loved one, you slut or whatever you are
Because two wrongs make a right, right?
No, but three rights make a left. 😉
Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.
Woah… gotta love the hypocrisy from some of the self proclaimed “privacy advocates” here.
All other data breaches and hacks are to be considered invasions of privacy, and you demand the government and/or companies do everything in their power to protect the private information of individuals.
Yet, when it conflicts with YOUR version of morality… then you say, “good going hackers”.
Regardless of how you feel about what goes on in the private lives of others… a breach of private data is still a crime, and is still a threat to the civil liberties of all.
The law determines which information should come to light… and NOT the whims of some “moral majority”. There is a difference between moral distinctions, and criminality. So put down your pitchforks, step away from the mob, and stop the crusade.
——————
How would you feel if the Syrian Electronic Army imposed their “morality” on their hacking targets?
How about those here in the U.S. who think sex out of wedlock is immoral, and start breaching the private data of popular ‘hookup’ dating/matching services like Tinder or Hinge???
—————–
Conclusion:
Private data should be PRIVATE regardless of moral beliefs! And introducing the morality of other people, as some kind of justification for breaching privacy… stands AGAINST the principles of privacy that we should uphold for everyone.
If you start passing moral judgement about who deserves privacy, and who doesn’t…. then that pendulum will swing back Hard, when someone decides that what you are doing is immoral.
+1 for Joe V.
A criminal invasion of privacy is a criminal invasion of privacy. The line for moral hacking can get cloudy very quick, particularly when looking at oppressive regimes around the world who also claim a moral majority.
Yes, this website does promote immoral activity, but you’re correct in pointing out the lack of justification for the hack. And let’s add attempted blackmail to this list, which is also a felony. I’m betting the hackers intend to sell the credit card info as well.
tl;dr the debate about the justification of this hack is nowhere as near cut and dry as your statement insinuates.
Obviously adultery is a moral question, but at least 5 states have deemed it enough of a issue to warrant a felony conviction or a misdemeanor in many other states (US). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery#/media/File:Adultery_Statutes_1996.png
The debate is also multi faceted. Was the hacking of hacking team justified by the fact that the software they provided may have led to the death and torture of many people?
You also state that EVERYONE deserves a right to privacy. A majority of people would argue against this depending on what moral principle was being violated. Surely you would not say that child porn ring members deserve privacy and we should not applaud vigilantism in that sector.
Give it up, moralist. Your attempt at justification by saying “but it’s a felony in some states” or whatever, well, pretty freaking weak considering homosexuality and sodomy were also felonies at one time. There are laws on the books that do not get enforced because they are outdated. People nowadays don’t get arrested and convicted for “adultery”. Well…maybe in the Muslim world they do. Are you Muslim? Your opinion is certainly in line with them.
It’s a self-righteous attitude and smacks of hypocrisy to wish ill on people that signed up for that site. They made mistakes. Let he without sin cast the first stone.
You can’t be serious, attempting to equate private acts between consenting adults with child molestation. Are you for real? Immoral or not, the theft of this data and attempted blackmail are both FELONIES, and are unjustifiable.
Nicely stated. It is amazing the amount of people who come out of the woodwork to comment about morality and cheating when the real topic of discussion is a crime that was committed.
Religious zealots who believe that being hacked is somehow penance for cheating, speaks more to the those who are judging then the persons with an ID on the server. When did cheating become the worse crime vs. theft?
It breaks down to this: Hackers illegal hacked the website and gained access to confidential data and are now, for lack of a better word, extorting the company and trying to force them to shut down. Anyone who supports this type of activity needs look at their own moral values and quit worrying about other people’s morality. In the end, if they are cheating it has nothing to do with YOU. Save your moral outrage it really should NOT come in to play here. That is the beauty of a democracy, freedom to CHOOSE what to do in your life.
Anyone asking for “good” hackers to attack or do “god’s work”, whatever that may be, are deluding themselves in thinking this would be acceptable behavior because it supports some religious belief you had. Not to mention, hackers are rarely good and the focus is almost always money not to support any religion. Hacker definition: a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data. I don’t know what god you subscribe to but in any religion there are 2 key things that you zealots need to remember: Thou Shall not STEAL and Thou Shall not judge lest ye be judged.
Spare me any rhetoric about religion or god in response to this, I don’t care what you think.
The website provided a service, albeit not well due to the whole non-deletion of data. Clearly there was a market since 37 Million people were on it. Consenting adults signed up, no one twisted their arm. It is not the website owners fault people cheat. Again, none of this has anything to do with you so ye can cease your moral indicator verbal Olympics I see on this blog.
This is an IT Security blog that gives valuable information to many of us in the industry. Some of us would actually like to see true intel vs. this sparring back and forth over religion
Your contorted hyperbole on religious values aside, you’re correct in that the criminal theft of data and attempted blackmail are wholly unjustified. No one in this episode is hands clean.
If it was a child porn trading site would it be okay to “invade” their privacy? Idiot! Cheating is harmful and in the states Muslims and Syrians have no moral claims to justice. You comparing AM to a Bank account website hack is no different than comparing Child Porn sites to AM…Get a life loser!
Comparisons to an obviously felony of “child porn” were expected. So that is why I already wrote that, “There is a difference between moral distinctions, and criminality.”
This comparison is absurd.
Adultery is not crime that is being pursued by any U.S. or Canadian law enforcement. And nobody here would want law enforcement to start arresting people and investigating possible adulterers.
By contrast, child porn is being actively pursued by law enforcement. Even then, I do not agree with vigilantism, because that is law enforcement’s job, and when hackers interfere, the perpetrators can often walk due to a mistrial or mishandling of evidence.
———————–
A better, but not perfect, comparison,… would be REGULAR PORN.
How many people in the U.S. would consider watching porn to be “immoral”?? How many people would feel disrespected and betrayed if their spouse watched porn every night, instead of having sex with them???
Watching porn is not illegal, and almost everyone does it at some point in their life. Very much like infidelity.
—————
If you really think that immoral stuff should be illegal… then try to get laws passed. Good luck with that.
Bottom line…. let law enforcement handle the illegal stuff…. and STAY OUT of everyone else’s immoral stuff.
I hope that The Impack Team lists EVERYTHING ..this would so lovely …Really I am excited to see the names and I am sure we will recognize many.. names .funny fuuny. What a crazy world we live. Someone needs to learn a embarrassing lesson.
How wonderful, PLEASE Impact Team do your job and force them to close.
I am laughing, how fricken stupid people could be. Now welcome to the real world. Lets the names come rolling. Ha Ha
It was posted on github
It may have been posted on github, but obviously not long enough for widespread access. It was taken down pretty fast, as will any other attempted postings.
yea sure put everyones financial info out in public and hurt their economic situation because of some BS. you idiots and your PC ness are stupid and careless this could put people in the streets and hurt children. but you dont care cause your just trying to rationalize illegal hacking of personal Info. you basterds.
Scared that your info will be released and punished for your little… Kinky affair you’ve been have? sure let’s see how many broken and abandoned AND suffering familes or even abandoned children who are suffering due to their parents are having F-fest with others or even divorced and not caring those poor kiddos.
Whatever the reason cheating on someone cannot be justfied like incest cannot be justified even non-christian agree with this. also it is in the godD constitutuion that cheating while married is indecency, Wrong and considered almost as crime.
So why is this godD site is lawful and govt agencies are helping this F-up? Because politicians are involved and oh mah lord lots of politicians and CEOs of corporations to famous people. this company is thinking it can F their customers and made them its B and then gaining power of control by blackmailing its customers to pay up 19 dollars constantly which is also very deceiving since this company just pretend to erase its customers data then keep its all customers info in this F-Up joint boss’s back grudge then blackmail people with power and wealth to be its B. Who knows maybe this joint order its customers to do their dirty work or even gain some wealth and secret political power.
Are you going to call me a conspiracy theorist now? because if it has all the dirty little secrets of people with power and wealth it will sure to blackmail them then get its hands on politics.
Seeing your dopamine-spike inducing self-righteous tone, I feel I must preface with information about my own personal situation.
Status: married
Affairs during 19 years of marriage: 0
Times I’ve kiss someone other than my spouse while married: 0
Times I’ve held hands with someone other than my spouse while married: 0
With that out of the way, your desire to feel good about yourself by condemning the behaviour of others aside, this data breach was a crime. Apart from Bill’s valid points, we’ve now got financial information in the hands of criminals to be used to fund what? Human trafficking operation, perhaps?
In other words, just because you think The Impact Team are a bunch of saints because they did something that gives you an opportunity to feel self-righteous, it does not make it so. Please at least be consistent. Cheer on the murder of adulterers in Saudi Arabia.
Why is this “godD site… lawful”?
Because it is not the government’s place to police the bedroom, that’s why.
“Are you going to call me a conspiracy theorist now? ”
No, I’m going to call you a twit and a kook.
Lol, that wall holding the Black back must be really low for you to see everything so clearly. Educate yourself and live a life a little and you’ll have some Grey to talk about that doesn’t make you look like a moron.
Infidelity is immoral, but data theft and blackmail are both FELONIES, punishable by prison sentences. This hacking cannot be rationalized or justified. The thieves only want to sell the data.
Putting children in the streets was done by the cheater…NOT the hackers! If you trust these sites with your personal info and it is exposed…guess what, it is your fault for being a sheep and giving them your info in the first place. The simple act of chedating puts families in jeopardy everyday. How about accountability for the cheater? I think there is a distinct difference in the stupidity of a cheater and the moral majority wanting justice. I could care less if they put my info out there…I have taken precautions and have NOTHING to hide from my bride and children. Maybe you should look in the mirror!
Where can I view the leaked information?
Adulterers deserve whatever they get. Esp. the ones who were dumb enough to give their credit card info to a cheaters website.
YESSSSSS THANK YOU
Perfect! Kudos!
Hands up for the Hackers…it is time that all these people who CHEAT on their partners/wives/husbands/ fiancee etc get sorted out. They cause misery, undescribable pain, distress and break downthe person in their life.
Most of a Females/Males Insecurities come from the Men/Females who have Cheated on them.
What are we breeding with these Sites, a Society of Cheaters, Narcissists, Sociopaths and undesirable individuals who don’t deserve to be in a relationship with a Loyal and Faithful person.
Has Society become so sick???
It’s high time someone did something to close down these Sites, they were probably cheated on and feel the pain.
Not only in Canada but all the Sites everywhere.
you are 100% right
Hypocrisy. Everyone is this world makes mistakes. Releasing that info doesn’t just hurt the “adulterer”, the financial implications harm the person cheated upon.
So in essence, you are actually wishing HARM upon those that were cheated upon. Way to go.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.
And I really hope none of you supported Clinton lest your hypocrisy be all the more palpable.
What if they ONLY release names and AM account info and pics? Would that be okay? If the financial info is reserved, then I say JUSTICE SERVED!!!! Accountability is due to these cheaters that think it is okay to do harm to their significant others, including their children. Pathetic!
Hands up for the Hackers…it is time that all these people who CHEAT on their partners/wives/husbands/ fiancee etc get sorted out. They cause misery, undescribable pain, distress and break downthe person in their life.
Most of a Females/Males Insecurities come from the Men/Females who have Cheated on them.
What are we breeding with these Sites, a Society of Cheaters, Narcissists, Sociopaths and undesirable individuals who don’t deserve to be in a relationship with a Loyal and Faithful person.
Has Society become so sick???
It’s high time someone did something to close down these Sites, they were probably cheated on and feel the pain.
Not only in Canada but all the Sites everywhere.
I agree, it’s just about money and more money, they don’t care about the Loyal and Faithful who don’t CHEAT on their Partners and respect the sanctuary of honesty and true love.
Hackers…Go Go Go and close down all the Sites not only the ones in Canada.
When the Russian Mob has the credit card information of these people will you still cheer as their families are financially ruined? Will you cheer for the break-up of families that results? Is divorce better than cheating?
I’m perhaps not the most moral person, but I don’t think it is a Christian principal to throw sinners and their families to the wolves.
Shutting down the site would have been sufficient. Trying to slut-shame 37 million people and handing over their financial info to professional criminals is a much worse crime. Don’t be surprised if a bunch of kids lose their college savings over this. Mom or Dad having an affair would not normally result in ruin. There is nothing new about adultery. And I don’t think Jesus ever said anything about handing over sinners to even worse sinners, which is basically what this is, so don’t get all moral about your support for organized crime.
For the record I do not have an Ashley Madison account and have never cheated on my wife. Just thought that should be said so you do not misconstrue my point.
Adultery is one thing and is defensible for non monogamous couples (trios, quads, etc.) Cheating is something completely different and indefensible. Since most couples are monogamous, adultery is almost always synonymous with cheating, which is by its very nature wrong. Cheating involves deceit, betrayal, and exposure to nonconsensual STD risk. That’s to say nothing of the harms of jealousy where the betrayed grows suspicious, or falling in love with the new partner and abandoning or sometimes even murdering the old partner. Please do not tell me that cheating is defensible. Cheaters deserve at a minimum the pain that they cause or could cause their partners. None of this necessarily makes the hackers morally right, but they are at least less wrong than ALM. Also, for the most part, it is rich, elite men who will be financially ruined. Good riddance to them. For the most part, they’ve stolen the money out of the pockets of hard working families to begin with. Rich men still have to pay alimony and child support, which can include trust funds for university. Divorce can be better than cheating in some circumstances, but better still is open, honest communication, and most of all, fidelity. Fidelity and adultery can go together, but if and only if both parties to a marriage consent to the adultery in advance.
Pure rubbish. Very few rich people got rich by stealing from others…that’s just a bunch of Marxist b.s. And the criminals that stole this private info are committing the crimes of theft AND blackmail, which are both felonies under U.S. law. They fully intend to sell this stolen data, which serves no one but themselves.
“Slut shame”? How twisted are you that you equate cheating on your spouse with some fat chick getting mad because someone told her that her skirt is too short.
Stop spending so much time on Tumblr. The nuts there are rotting your brain.
totally agree with you.
Actually it will involve more than 37 million, with all their financial and family ties etc., it could be well closer to 100 million in one way or another…many of them being business leaders, elected prostitutes (sorry, “legislators”!!), moral leaders, etc. See my comment just above for why that might just matter in a larger picture way. All of us is at risk in this created age of technology, and the reason we are at risk is because we have taught and learned that life and health are not very important, just getting ahead is. We have come so far that we can’t survive anymore in a world that allows such a bankrupt human-value system to persist. This is an example of showing us how we all might have to turn around and notice the train is coming at us down the track we insist on walking down, or taking us from our nice little walk along a polluted, poisoned river and throwing us in it so we have to actually drink in some of the evil we benefit from that others are sickened by, and have to actually deal with its evil or eat some of it ourselves.
Cheers….liars and cheaters who betray the one the partnered with should be exposed. However, like u said, even better if these sites were shut down.
Is there such a thing anymore as Loyal & Faithful people ? I am but I think I’m alone in that category!
You are not alone.
Well done hackers. These websites has no respect for people and no morals. Disgusting websites.
Lets hope your family members are not on the list,
Do the math. 37 Million X $19.00. Inside self hack extortion scam or great exit strategy?
While I don’t agree with your bat $hit crazy idea that it was some conspiracy to bail on the business the number:
37 Million X $19.00. Is completely off so yes please do the math.
The dossiers that this data will contain will serve as tools for extortion with wildly varying price points. 19 is a number quoted for “fullz” out of date, but enough to be close. However, the data in this dump can be directly be used to find high profile wealthy targets and a credit freeze has little to no effect on an extortion attempt based off the data. It would not be hard to imagine that there are number of “fullz” in that dump that the owner would pay 100k or more to have deleted or handed over.
Yes, please do the math…
simply get an order threatening any social media outlet with civil and criminal sanctions that allows it to be poste. I hate bullies of any ilk. “forced compliance” is nothing more than repression. That said..it’s far easier(and more fun) to include your spouse in games than to leave her out
I’d love to check if those names who support gay agenda are in the list. See their cheating and watch the show of life screw…
You are clearly an idiot. What does this have to do with gay agenda. If that were true would not the priest you blew as a choir boy be the first person on here.
The Internet is one of the priorities in our lives in this Century.
It is a Gift to us to use appropriately by the Inventors of the Internet.
This same Internet is used to destroy people, relationships, children, famalies and the good values that most people value.
It is the Sites like the Cheaters/Affairs ones that destroy people; Sites like the ones that give Molesters and Child Abusers the space and opportunity to suck in innocent children to sexually abuse them and then kill them too; Porn Sites that give Males/Females unrelistic views; Sites and Places that teach anyone visiting them the info of how to make weapons, incite violence and the info into how to avoid the Law and get away with illegal things, how to steal, commit fraud, plan bad things that destroy humankind…this is not what the Internet was meant for, not meant to break down Society, not meant to destroy anyone or anything.
Crime, all sorts of hurt has pushed Society into taking desperate measures to hit back, to defend themselves and others and to look for ways to delete the thing that is causing their pain and destruction in their lives.
Just as Security Companies will protect their Clients, so will the good Hackers protect Society and themselves probably.
I ask the Authorities, especially the US, who have the Powers to inpercept the Internet, to please make it a place where most can benifit from its good, not a place for the people who have no respect for others, to benefit from the bad that encourages the dark side of life.
In other words….
“Government, please censor the internet and control us”.
You espouse the equivalent of modern-day book-burning.
No, thanks.
Unfortnately there are people who do not know how to govern or control themselves and their behaviour and innocent people suffer for what they do.
It is time to clean up the Internet, it’s a breeding place for Crimes and Destruction.
If it takes a Government to censor and sort out the Internet then so be it.
Please spare a thought for the people who are suffering because of the nfeeling, uncaring
Unfortnately there are people who cannot govern themselves or control their behaviour and innocent people suffer because of their actions.
The Internet needs to be cleaned up and if it takes a Government to do it, then so be it.
Spare a thought for all the victims out there who are suffering
because of selfish, unfeeling, uncaring people who use the Internet to perform Crimes and Destruction against others.
That’s cool. So when your church starts saying anything against gays or gay marriage, we can have the government shut it down for propagating hate speech? Ohh, I see, you meant take down the sites you don’t like, not the ones I don’t like. Who gets to decide? Well if you want the government to be the authority, Obama is the head of our government now and Hillary is likely to be next year for the next 8. Or maybe Donald Trump. You good with Obama or Hillary making the call? Yeah that’s what I thought…
supporting ur speech,bro….
OK, I’ll go for a repeal of the first amendment if you accept a repeal of the prohibition against summary execution.
People are free to do as they please in North America, people are permitted to choose as they please here as well and we also refuse to permit any religion rule the land.
So, if you’re on this continent and feel otherwise, I’ll happily pay for your one way ticket to Iran, where such things are the rule and law of the land. Right after your renunciation of citizenship is accepted by your government.
I may not condone the choices of some people, but I’ll fight to the last drop of blood of whoever is attempting to suppress freedom of choice.
Your philosophy is narrow and flawed. Try to see what good has come from the integration of the Internet and society. Not only the bad. All this “bad” has already existed in society, introduced by someone or some group already within society. Lets consider using technology for the sake of controlling technology and not for the sake of controlling people.
First off, your delusional. The kind of internet your describing hasn’t even hit the movies yet. Most of the sophisticated luring web traps your talking about are the ones designed specifically to catch the perps you want caught.
Secondly, why would anyone want someone else to decide for them what’s good, especially the government. It’s rare to see people actually ask for government censorship.
So true, my family has been hurt dreadfully by the internet – well said. The internet is a GOOD thing when used properly but a BAD and EVIL thing generally….
I suspect what you want is what the exposers had in mind all along, to inform and make the world aware of one form of horror created by the so very brilliant generation of techies, scientists, and business people and in general everybody who created these gaps through their uncivilized notion of pursuing success, and even life, by abandoning the golden rule. We have been around long enough to learn that we don’t have to harm others, doing so is voluntary, lazy, and really now just un-evolved.
The last century has seen the development of huge quantities of technologies that can kill all of us quickly, one way or another, and the old socio-pathic ways of “me against you” and “I don’t have to care about what I do to you, it’s all survival of the fittest” are just too dangerous for everyone to go about in blissful ignorance anymore.
If these guys have an ethic, I like to think it is the same ethic as, say, Snowden and Assange, maybe even the Rosenbergs, i.e., that of the “bigger picture,” and doing it in a way that has a better chance of getting us all involved and committed, on a scale that maybe really could matter, since doing nothing and being powerless individually is what we are best at.
The particular venue they have picked might just be secondary to their main point, except that it is one likely to obtain that much more notoriety and, like unclothing the Emperor, making it harder for the rest of us to deny and ignore the peril our complacency puts us all in.
This company are monetizing dishonesty. For that, they deserve little sympathy. Nor do those who took the opportunity to be dishonest, even as secondary victims.
Both took different kinds of dangerous risks, and must reap the consequences, or eschew the temptations which led to the risks. Attempting to have your cake & eat it will quite often lead to choking.
This doesn’t equate to my support for criminal activity, though. I’m undecided as to the motivation of the breach. Intent is as critical as method, legally and morally.
If a public interest case can be demonstrated here – genuinely; a robust one – then it’s spurious to have moral compunctions about the method of disclosure. Instead, focus on WHAT has been revealed
If it’s a form of personal vendetta at play here, that deserves little more than scorn. Similarly so if the motive was purely financial.
In any event, if you can’t separate the “what” from the “how” here, and discuss them separately, go back to reading tabloids.
I wish the hacker would just release the information already. If the main goal is to get the site taken down, a bunch of angry customers/ cheaters Will do it for them. Maybe after the nasty, cheating, hoe bags in the world, will consider the consequences and learn how to be loyal And keep it real with one person. I bet the spread of sexually transmitted diseases would decrease as well 🙂
Another day and another breach but this time with extra bad benefits. You can celebrate the fact that cheaters might end up getting their just deserts but the focus has to be on fixing a very broken system. I stayed at a Mandarin Hotel last year and I get a letter last week saying my credit card details, etc. were breached. I wasn’t having an affair and it was just a matter of using the credit card at the property itself. As end users and consumers, were nothing more than cannon fodder.
Thank you Lord! for exposing these cheating sinners. I always believed God would strike down on sinners who make other human life miserable. i will pray and speak to you tonight o dear lord to thank you and tell you how awesoem and cool you are..the impact hackers are angels sent by god on earth to erase sinners. i am convinced
ah, you just wish do destroy all people you dont like, just like Hitler. but you just want God to do it for you. Dont wanna get dirty on your hands. Feels good to wash a way the filth, doesnt it? Be careful, maybe your family members are on the list.
Jesus said “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone” (John 8:7)
Spare me your religious self-righteousness.
You realize that only applies to the ones who believe in Christianity right? And why the hell are you defending those scum? They dug their own Graves when they signed up for a website for cheaters. They deserve anything and everything that happens to them.
P.s. get a new line. You’ve used that one like 6 times already.
You are correct billyJclinton but God gave mankind his Laws in Deuteronomy in the Old Testament…NO Adultery, Theft, Murder and more…all of God’s Laws are being broken on or because of the Internet in one way or another.
This proves that the Internet has to be cleaned up!!
Too bad there are so many comments about the website’s content / service. I was hoping to see something about the “full delete” offering that didn’t. The company didn’t seem to address it in the announcement included at the end of the article.
To all the moral giants – be careful what you wish for. Your family member or friend very well could be in that list that’s exposed. Any data breach is bad and those involved should be tracked down and prosecuted.
if a family member or a friend of mine is listed on that cheating site i will never speak to the dirty fucker again. i hope that they lose everything because they would be no friend or family member of mine.
I have made an account inthat website to see how it is working. Added pix and updated infos (but not credit card)… If the hackers would really do their threat if AM refused, it’s fine with me.. I would thank them more. Since I never wanted that website in the first place, thru the time I was seeing the happenings inthat website (I talked to a few though) I feel sorry fortheir other halves who have no idea/set aside their thoughts that their partners might be cheating. IDK what particularly Impact Team want for abolishing this website et al, but it will be the most sensible hacking I have ever heard. Wish they could also abolish the other cheating and dating websites… I’d feel better then.. thnx Impact team… salute to you…
I hope, no… Can’t wait for them to release at least the names and other profile data. I can’t condone the release of the credit card data, but releasing the rest of the profiles will tell me which of the hometown honeys are secretly DTF. Maybe I can help them out scratching that itch…
No one seems to be commenting on the vigilante angle of this. Impact claims AM and EM sites have stolen $1.7M from its customers. Impact is using the db info as leverage to shut the sites down. If this was an organized crime outfit that stole $1.7M by blackmailing its customers about their illicit activity, what would be the morality of team Impact’s vigilante activity?
I think I just heard the sound of millions of peoples’ a-holes puckering all at once…
Well, as the saying goes, “If you play with a turd, you’re going to get s**t on your hands.” Glad I never messed around with the AM turd. I throw down with my immorality the old fashioned way… at the dive bar down the street!