SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
KrebsonSecurity is reporting that the online "cheating" site AshleyMadison.com (and other sites run by the Avid Life Media group) has been hacked with user information compromised by a group called the Impact Team.
The group is threatening to release all data online as a result of alleged lies the ALM group told members unless the sites are entirely shut down.
"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."
AshleyMadison.com does offer a $20 "Full Delete" option for a users profile, as detailed in this ArsTechnica article from 2014. Obviously, this "Full Delete" is now useless, as the information is already (allegedly) in the hands of the hackers.
Is this a case of altruistic hacking or a possible case of revenge?
(Score: 5, Interesting) by zafiro17 on Monday July 20 2015, @06:53PM
All it takes is one or two talented hackers who have personally been betrayed by people they loved. Then to see something like Ashley Madison, encouraging people to go out and screw over people who trust them must seem unfathomably galling. It starts to look like a target. Not coincidentally, it's a target that is ideal for blackmail: it's full of probably wealthy people who have entrusted A.M. with very personal and private information and whose lives would be irretrievably wrecked if it got out. They would do probably ANYTHING to keep that secret in the box.
Personally, I think these hackers are being extremely courteous by asking for nothing other than the destruction of the website (sadly, its backers will just spawn a new site, since there's no killing the business model, and it looks like the business model was making them easy cash).
I'm happily married to a wife I trust totally. But I can guarantee you, if I found out she'd been sleeping around, just knowing there's a site out there saying "Go on, do it - fuck over guys like zafiro17 at our super awesome website service" would be like a steady roar of outrage slowly consuming my brain. So I totally get where these hackers are coming from, and commend them for their work.
In fact, as I play out this little fantasy, I think I would wait until they shut down the website, and then release the personal info ANYWAY. Just to be a dick. Not the credit card info, the awful, personal, sexual stuff. Those folks fucked up big time by joining that site. They shouldn't get away that easy.
Dad always thought laughter was the best medicine, which I guess is why several of us died of tuberculosis - Jack Handey
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @07:23PM
She's cheating on you, bro
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 20 2015, @07:35PM
How do you know that? You don't know their personal circumstances or details of their relationships and you can't safely make assumptions. As to the public release of personal / private information -- that is always disgusting.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Monday July 20 2015, @08:30PM
In fact, as I play out this little fantasy, I think I would wait until they shut down the website, and then release the personal info ANYWAY.
Either way, when this story broke I added a boatload of popcorn to the shopping list.
This could make the Apple breach look like a high school hallway tease.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by tathra on Monday July 20 2015, @08:51PM
except if your wife cheated, she's the one who cheated, not the website, and not the guy(s) she fucked. i really don't get the misdirected rage that occurs when a parter cheats - your partner is the one who betrayed your trust and lied to you, your partner is the one who fucked you over, so why is the rage never directed at the partner and always instead at the other person, the one who doesn't owe you any loyalty or trust? similarly, a website that allow cheaters to meet each other isn't the one allowing or encouraging them to cheat, your partner is the sole person responsible, its not like the website is the reason they cheated, your partner wouldn't even be looking at the website if they weren't already planning to cheat.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by LoRdTAW on Monday July 20 2015, @10:26PM
I think people have it backwards. My guess is the hackers are the people who were caught cheating. Why would a betrayed hacker be upset about retained data which exposed their lover's infidelity? Wouldn't the data retention be the reason they caught their s/o cheating which would be beneficial in a divorce case?
Here what happened:
-Hacker gets bored of s/o (it happens).
-goes on cheating site and creates profile.
-Either cheats or doesn't cheat, doesn't matter as long as you have a profile you are assumed guilty.
-Deletes profile thinking it would cover their tracks.
-Profile isn't actually deleted.
-significant other suspects cheating and snoops on email/apps/texts etc.
-Finds "deleted" profile.
-Files for divorce using profile as evidence in divorce case
-Cheaters life made a living legal hell.
-Cheating hacker gets pissed at website and here we are.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Tuesday July 21 2015, @01:26AM
It does seem a bit ironic--a lying, cheating spouse getting mad at a service that lied about something.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 2) by vux984 on Tuesday July 21 2015, @08:09AM
i really don't get the misdirected rage that occurs when a parter cheats - your partner is the one who betrayed your trust and lied to you, your partner is the one who fucked you over, so why is the rage never directed at the partner and always instead at the other person, the one who doesn't owe you any loyalty or trust?
WTF!!!
What on earth makes you think its an 'either or' situation? WTF makes you think the rage is "never directed at the partner"? Cheating destroys relationships all the time, partners get tossed out, their belongings get destroyed, and they even get physically attacked over it all the time...in other words "rage is directed at the cheating partner" ALL THE TIME. Your assertion is patently absurd.
But there's plenty more rage to go around. For example the 'other person' knew what they were doing; they certainly don't get a free pass just because they don't owe me trust or loyalty; they knew they were participating in screwing me over even if they don't know me. We're not going to be friends after that... to say the least.
And a dating site like ashley madison? they want to make money out of creating a forum for people to screw their partner over, fuck em, there's going to be PLENTY of rage to spare when the partners that get fucked over find out to send rage some their way too.
People say monogamy is changing, open relationships are fine... whatever. That's not for me, but if you have that, that's fine. Its not actually cheating or a betrayal of trust if all partners are consenting to it after all. And those people don't need a site like ashley madison, because they don't need to hide it from their partners.
The only people who need ashley madison are those looking to screw someone over. Fuck them, Fuck the site, and Fuck everyone involved with it. Cleanse it with fire.