Posted on 07/22/2015 4:42:13 PM PDT by markomalley
For a website like AshleyMadison.com that prides itself on secrecy and anonymity, a breach like this can be catastrophic. The site’s subscribers pay to have access to other married people looking to have affairs. They all, presumably, felt that their private information was safe.
“The quick answer is: not that safe,” says Dr. Michael Sulmeyer, the director of the Cyber Security Initiative at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center.
He says Ashley Madison’s clients know now the truth of the web: everything is hackable.
“Largely, you should not have an expectation of ultimate security and privacy,” Sulmeyer explains. “And operate with the understanding that things can go wrong despite all promises to the contrary.”
The group believed to be responsible for the hack claims to have stolen private information from all 37 million Ashley Madison users. On Tuesday the personal details of two subscribers leaked. One man is from Canada – the other from Brockton.
What was revealed is intensely personal. Among the data released about the Brockton client of Ashley Madison: His user ID is “Heavy73″; he listed himself as “married/attached”; he joined the site the day after Valentine’s Day, 2014; he likes “cuddling & hugging” and is into “discretion & secrecy”.
Sulmeyer says highly motivated hackers can be determined to get into sites like this, looking for intimate even embarrassing details.
On any such site, he says, users can and should change their passwords often.
“Even with that you should not believe that you have total privacy. And if you are really one who wants total privacy then you should not probably be getting on websites like this,” Sulmeyer says.
The hackers are demanding that the whole website be taken down or else they will release all the names and private data they have.
I think sheep are the way to go in this instance...
It sounds like he might have a bromance for you.
i say torch the site and bring them all down. i am not in favor of heterosexuals wanting to behave like homosexuals in any shape way or form.
Norm, I don’t condone what these folks are doing. We’re not in disagreement there.
I don’t care if people are breaking into files like this, or jacking car operating systems, enough is enough.
We shouldn’t make the case it’s okay to breach their files, but don’t breach mine.
Breaching files and systems should be a serious crime, and the penalties should be substantial.
If someone broke into my home and rifled my personal papers, and found out secret information, it wouldn’t be tolerated. I could take action against them. They would be guilty of theft.
What bothers me, is that these hackers are more or less thought of as modern day heroes of sorts.
Honestly, I wish there was an agency that could find these guys and put them in a room with no computers for 5 to 10 for this type of activity.
These guys put us all at risk. Breaching these systems is a security risk to individuals. In this instance those individuals are not people I care for. I don’t like their Lifestyle choices. They have made a confidential agreement, and the hackers should leave them alone.
We can’t smile when other people’s private information is revealed, then get up set when our own is. Private information should remain private.
It's more akin to you storing your stuff at a bank safe deposit box and someone steals it.
Even so, for a website that is, at best, a step down from a hard core porn site and expecting them to have great security is not the wisest move but the people that use this particular site are skeevy anyways but still, they don't deserve it.
Now, if your bank's website gets hacked, you are 100% correct, you would be right to scream this from the rooftops and it would probably be actionable but then again, what did Target have to pay out when their site was hacked?
Not baaad.
Following a google search on his unusual name, I found him on a website dedicated to all sorts of sexual perversions, with his addiction being incest and his request to exchange photos of his familial encounters with others like him.
I posted a copy of the link to him and he never returned to this site........
I actually think it’s more like ‘unhealthy obsession’. He seems to have fixated on me since I won’t give in to his God lectures.
If I end up in a hole with a small dog and some guy talking about skin lotion, you’ll know what happened to me.
I’m fine with nailing the perps. And throwing the book at them. But I am also fine with BS getting exposed whether legally or not. It’s still BS.
I don't have a problem with that description. Anyone stealing from a bank safe deposit box is recognized as committing a serious crime, and treated accordingly.
I don't object to the site being described in those terms. One could argue less damage is done from simple access to a port site. I don't think it's without negatives by any means, but the other site officially makes cheating possible, as a goal.
To me, a breach is a breach. If I like the site or not, I'm not for it. Banks, government agencies, commercial enterprises..., this is not good. None of it...
There was that time in Montana with the Sherrff’s girl I’d rather forget about though...
I didn’t know she was spoken for! Honest!
Norm, lets say your a Christian. That’s repugnant to a lot of people these days. Should they be able to breach your data then?
I suggest we shoot for stopping it all.
I was just in Helena and your picture is still on the Post Office wall.
(jes’ kiddin’)
Wow, you weren’t kidding about the stalking.
Like I say. Prosecute them fully. It’s impossible to stop. Anyone with an IT background will tell you that.
I look at it this way. It’s a war. Liberalism vs humanity. Play to win. If they get their data exposed illegally, I am not upset. They will do the same to me and smile. It’s a wash.
No, it’s still there... ;)
Look at the last 3 days alone. He was good for a couple weeks but he seems to for in bursts.
Thanks for your comment Norm.
I wish it didn’t have to be the way it is. If they want to be what they are, I have no problem dragging my feet about their ox getting gored when coming to their aid. Could take centuries.
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