Cheating Website Ashley Madison Hacked

I'm not suggesting anyone in our audience might need this information. But I'll just leave it here just in case.

The website AshleyMadison.com helps married people cheat. The site uses the advertising slogan "Life is short. Have an affair." And now the site has been hit by hackers who are threatening to release information about millions of customers.

According to CNN Money, the hackers appear to be upset over the company's "full delete" service, which promises to completely erase a user's profile, and all associated data, for a $19 fee:

"Full Delete netted [Avid Life Media] $1.7 million in revenue in 2014. It's also a complete lie," the hackers were quoted as saying in a manifesto published by Krebs. "Users almost always pay with credit card; their purchase details are not removed as promised, and include real names and address, which is of course the most important information the users want removed."

The hackers apparently want the entire Ashley Madison site taken down. And if not they say customer records will be released, including profiles with secret sexual fantasies and matching credit card transactions, and real names.

Many, many people have nothing to worry about, of course. But for a select few this might be a long few days or weeks until a resolution is found.