Hackers breached the online adultery website Ashley Madison and threatened to expose data on users in an effort to shut down the service which claims millions of members worldwide.
Avid Life Media, which owns Ashley Madison, said in a statement Monday an “unauthorized party” was able to gain access to the data through various unauthorized points on the website.
A group calling itself “The Impact Team” claimed responsibility and said it was part of an effort to shut down Ashley Madison, known for its slogan, “Life is short. Have an affair.”
The group, in statements posted online, said that Ashley Madison and a related site called Established Men
must shut down immediately permanently
“Shutting down AM and EM will cost you, but non-compliance will cost you more,” the statement said.
We will release all customer records, profiles with all the customers’ sexual fantasies, nude pictures, and conversations and matching credit card transactions, real names and addresses
Avid Life, which is based in Canada, said some personally identifiable information was posted online before being removed.
“Our team has now successfully removed the posts related to this incident … about our users published online,” Avid Life Media said.
“At this time, we have been able to secure our sites, and close the unauthorized access points,” the company said.
“We apologize for this unprovoked and criminal intrusion into our customers’ information.”
