Let's set one thing straight for the record before I begin. I don't like hackers, criminals with no respect for privacy and who blatantly violate people's right to such over the internet. Cyber crime must be combated.
Nonetheless, it should be common knowledge to everyone that there is no such thing as safety on the Web. Hackers can slice through almost any level of security if they are determined enough. To post one's name, address and credit card details along with their deviant sexual fantasies and ads seeking illicit affairs can only be seen as foolhardy at best, irredeemably stupid at worst.
The hackers threatened to post the data on-line if site owner Avid Life Media did not shut down Ashley Madison and a similar site, EstablishedMen.com, for good. Sometimes you have to hand it to hackers and whistleblowers. Every now and then, they get it right by going after and exposing truly despicable people or businesses.
Avid Life Media CEO Noel Biderman responded to the hacking, noting, "Like us or not, this is still a criminal act." True. Yet, give me one good reason why these Ashley Madison users should not be exposed. They are low-lives; they had it coming.
Ashley Madison's motto was "Life is short. Have an affair." It was marketed to people who are either married or in a committed relationship. The site had 37 million registered users. Trish McDermott, the co-founder of Match.com—a dating website aimed at singles—called Ashley Madison a "business built on the back of broken hearts, ruined marriages and damaged families", an entirely accurate statement.
What the douches using Ashley Madison didn't realize was that not only was their information obviously not safe and secure, but the website itself cheated. Over 70 percent of Ashley Madison users are male, so the site created female ads that were completely fugazi to give the impression of more women using the service than actually were. In fact, Ashley Madison wanted to advertise during the 2009 SuperBowl, arguing that its core demographic would be watching, but NBC wisely refused.
Ashley Madison is not likely to back down as they have said that they are working closely with the authorities. If that's true, the information that the hackers received will probably be published on-line soon in what I'm guessing will be an Ashley Madison users name-and-shame site. There have also been reports of extortion e-mails being sent to individual users, requesting 225 dollars to keep the secret from their nearest-and-dearests.
The hack was an intervention that was almost divine in its execution. The irony is rich, indeed, because a website promoting cheating had previously told its customers "we'll keep this discrete and you can trust us". Justice has been done. These customers now know what it's like to be let down.
Screw them. Anybody that would break the trust that another human being has in them deserves this exposure. I'm sick of men who have no morals and just want to dip their wick. They made a very conscious choice. Their sexual pleasure meant more to them than their families. If their lives are ruined, that's great news. I have no sympathy whatsoever. There is no saving grace for any of these ogres. They can mutter "I'm sorry" all they want, but they're only sorry they got caught. I couldn't care less about the consequences for those exposed by the hack.
And I certainly will not lose any sleep over the jobs lost when Avid Life Media gets destroyed by the many lawsuits that are soon to come their way. This is what happens when you work for an organization that profits directly from immorality.
The wrong people brought Ashley Madison down. But at least a lot of rubbish is about to be cleaned up.
Nonetheless, it should be common knowledge to everyone that there is no such thing as safety on the Web. Hackers can slice through almost any level of security if they are determined enough. To post one's name, address and credit card details along with their deviant sexual fantasies and ads seeking illicit affairs can only be seen as foolhardy at best, irredeemably stupid at worst.
The hackers threatened to post the data on-line if site owner Avid Life Media did not shut down Ashley Madison and a similar site, EstablishedMen.com, for good. Sometimes you have to hand it to hackers and whistleblowers. Every now and then, they get it right by going after and exposing truly despicable people or businesses.
Avid Life Media CEO Noel Biderman responded to the hacking, noting, "Like us or not, this is still a criminal act." True. Yet, give me one good reason why these Ashley Madison users should not be exposed. They are low-lives; they had it coming.
Ashley Madison's motto was "Life is short. Have an affair." It was marketed to people who are either married or in a committed relationship. The site had 37 million registered users. Trish McDermott, the co-founder of Match.com—a dating website aimed at singles—called Ashley Madison a "business built on the back of broken hearts, ruined marriages and damaged families", an entirely accurate statement.
What the douches using Ashley Madison didn't realize was that not only was their information obviously not safe and secure, but the website itself cheated. Over 70 percent of Ashley Madison users are male, so the site created female ads that were completely fugazi to give the impression of more women using the service than actually were. In fact, Ashley Madison wanted to advertise during the 2009 SuperBowl, arguing that its core demographic would be watching, but NBC wisely refused.
Ashley Madison is not likely to back down as they have said that they are working closely with the authorities. If that's true, the information that the hackers received will probably be published on-line soon in what I'm guessing will be an Ashley Madison users name-and-shame site. There have also been reports of extortion e-mails being sent to individual users, requesting 225 dollars to keep the secret from their nearest-and-dearests.
The hack was an intervention that was almost divine in its execution. The irony is rich, indeed, because a website promoting cheating had previously told its customers "we'll keep this discrete and you can trust us". Justice has been done. These customers now know what it's like to be let down.
Screw them. Anybody that would break the trust that another human being has in them deserves this exposure. I'm sick of men who have no morals and just want to dip their wick. They made a very conscious choice. Their sexual pleasure meant more to them than their families. If their lives are ruined, that's great news. I have no sympathy whatsoever. There is no saving grace for any of these ogres. They can mutter "I'm sorry" all they want, but they're only sorry they got caught. I couldn't care less about the consequences for those exposed by the hack.
And I certainly will not lose any sleep over the jobs lost when Avid Life Media gets destroyed by the many lawsuits that are soon to come their way. This is what happens when you work for an organization that profits directly from immorality.
The wrong people brought Ashley Madison down. But at least a lot of rubbish is about to be cleaned up.
1 comment:
Almost ironic that people who violate laws "for a living" were outraged by immorality. :-/ But I have no sympathy for the Ashley Madison users. I mean, who comes up with this crap?? Just goes to show how far we've fallen as a society. Sick, sick, sick. I totally agree: Anyone who cheats on his/her spouse is a complete low-life.
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