Ashley Madison was hacked. Now, approximately 37 million users are at risk of being exposed online.
The popular matchmaking website, with a slogan "Life is short, have an affair," confirmed that there was a breach in the site's security system, allowing the hackers to obtain personal member data.
These cybercriminals, who named themselves as The Impact Team, wanted both Ashley Madison and Established Men to halt their operations, Boston Herald reported.
The customer records that were obtained by the hackers included customers' secret sexual fantasies, matching credit card transactions, real names and addresses.
In addition, internal company servers, company bank account data, employee network information and salary information were included on the stolen information.
"We've got the complete set of profiles in our DB (database) dumps, and we'll release them soon if Ashley Madison stays online," the hackers said in their manifesto.
"And with over 37 million members — a significant percentage of the population is about to have a very bad day, including many rich and powerful people," they added.
Ashley Madison hackers said that the "paid delete" function on the site for $19 would not remove all of the information on the member's transaction, IBN Live has learned. That service was a lie, according to the Ashley Madison hackers.
Standing by their word that customer privacy is their utmost priority, the company now offers their full-delete option for free to any member.
That said, does this mean that they are now the good guys campaigning against the lies of the company? Nevertheless, a lot has been compromised and clearly, something has to be done.
Noel Biderman, Avid Life Chief Executive, said that the suspected culprit was not an employee at the company, but has access to the internal works. He added that all unauthorized data posted on the site have been removed, according to Gizmodo.
The company reportedly hired Sycura, a U.K.-based cybersecurity firm, to conduct an investigation on the Ashley Madison hacking incident.
