Hackers post data from affair dating site: Report
PUBLISHED ONAugust 19, 2015 8:16 AM
WASHINGTON - Hackers have released stolen information from some 32 million users of the affair website Ashley Madison, tech magazine Wired reported.
The data dump on Tuesday on what Wired described as the "dark web" included millions of payment transactions, email addresses and phone numbers of people who were registered on the dating site.
The release comes about a month after the data was stolen by hackers identified as the "Impact Team" who allegedly tried to shut the site for cheaters down "immediately permanently." The group threatened to release customers records, nude pictures and conversations if the site wasn't closed.
Ashley Madison's website is known for its slogan "Life is short. Have an affair." It helps connect people seeking to have an extramarital relationship and is owned by company Avid Life Media.
The hacker team appeared to follow through on its threat with a 9.7 gigabyte dump, Wired reported.
"We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM (Avid Life Media) and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data," the group reportedly wrote in its data dump on Tuesday.
"I'm looking for someone who isn't happy at home or just bored and looking for some excitement," said one user in the data, Wired reported, while noting some 15,000 users in the data included government or military email addresses.
Avid Life Media, based in Toronto, Canada, condemned the initial hack calling it a "criminal intrusion." The company spoke out again Tuesday saying the release of data was an illegal action against the members of the website, Wired reported.
Ashley Madison was temporarily blocked in South Korea by the country's communications commission, but it returned with a surge of users this year.