Hackers Threaten To Release Ashley Madison User Info

If you've got a profile on the notorious online dating website AshleyMadison.com, your information just might be going public.

Ashley Madison has been a controversial--and extremely popular--dating website. Since its launch in 2001, the site has amassed 37 million members, some of which are going to be having a bit of a problem today if everything goes according to hacking group The Impact Team's plan.

Brian Krebs, a preeminent reporter on cyber crime, has been covering the story on KrebsOnSecurity.com:

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.”

Here is the message they left behind:

Good luck, Ashley Madison users, and godspeed.