Netflix is all set to tell the story of a real-life, scandalous hack that knocked the daylights out of many people after they resorted to infidelity through a website called Ashley Madison back in 2015. The streaming platform recently released the riveting trailer of the docuseries based on the infamous scandal, titled ‘Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal‘.
From the looks of it, the docuseries will feature many people who have been at the heart of the issue. It will seemingly delve deep into the notorious dating platform and the 2015 cyberattack that rocked the digital world as well as the familial peace of all those who resorted to the website to commit infidelity and have extramarital affairs. As the much-anticipated docuseries is set for a release on May 15, here’s all you need to know about the scandal and how it not only shook the digital world but also ruined many families.
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What Is The Ashley Madison Scandal About?
Around the early 2000s, several Americans found themselves an easy means to have extramarital affairs — a website called Ashley Madison. The website catered to married people seeking extramarital affairs and was working quite well with millions subscribing to it, until it got hacked in 2015.
It took no time for the breach to blow out of proportion. Knowing that the website had access to the private details of countless users, including some celebrities, blackmailers saw a promising premise for their business. The personal data of the website users was laid bare and was even available for sale. The aftermath of the fiasco affected everyone involved, right from the company owners and stakeholders to the registered users and their families.
The platform, aptly named after two popular female names Ashley and Madison, was founded in 2001. It rapidly gained prominence in the dating circles in the US. Though it was a lot like the dating apps Tinder or Bumble, Ashley Madison exclusively catered to married people. The website was essentially a clandestine avenue for infidelity and also advertised itself as having the aim to help people have the “perfect” extramarital affair.
The website gained heavy prominence over decades, with even celebrities including politicians, actors, and clergy members signing up on it. While it was at the top of its game, Ashley Madison left no chance of getting in the public eye. A prominent move the website made was when New York Governor Eliot Spitzer’s extramarital affair was exposed.
Ashley Madison’s CEO, Noel Biderman, boldly capitalized on the controversy with a full-page advertisement in the New York Post, shaming the politician for choosing to pay for sex instead of using his website — a more discreet alternative to commit adultery. All in all, the top brass at Ashley Madison knew what they wanted and how they could make people give it to them.
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Who Hacked Ashley Madison And For What?
All was well and good, as Ashley Madison was flourishing when in 2015, a brutal cyberattack brought the website to its knees. Though the website had previously faced an issue with claims that it employed people to run fake female profiles, it was nothing compared to the hack. At the time of the cyberattack, Ashley Madison boasted a staggering 32 million users worldwide and all of their data was breached.
In July of the same year, a hacker group known as the Impact Team claimed responsibility for the attack. They reached out to journalist Brian Krebs to confess the crime and told him that they got access to sensitive information from Avid Life Media (ALM), the firm that owned Ashley Madison and also oversaw related sites like Cougar Life and Established Men.
The hacker group demanded that Ashley Madison immediately stop all its operations. They threatened to release the sensitive user data if their demands were not met. In their statement, the group said that they “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 website did not surrender to the threats and refused to shut down. And the hackers remained true to their word, as they released all the stolen data into the digital ether. The hack also revealed that the website had duped its users by charging them money to delete their personal data from the site, but retained it anyway.
The repercussions of the hack reverberated, impacting the lives of both public figures and ordinary people who fell prey to the website’s allure. Among the most prominent figures involved in the scandal was reality TV personality Josh Duggar. Though he was already facing molestation charges by the time Ashley Madison exposed him, it was revealed that he had two different accounts on the website and was also paying a monthly fee to ensure he met other women.
Christian YouTuber Sam Rader was another name in the scandal, although he later confessed to his mistake and also apologized to his wife. Other notable figures included Florida State Attorney Jeff Ashton, Louisiana GOP official Jason Doré, and Josh Taekman, husband of Real Housewives of New York star Kristen Taekman, among others.
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How The Ashley Madison Hack Impacted Millions Of Lives
The Ashley Madison hack, however, did not just affect celebrities; it also had a profound impact on the lives of ordinary people whose sensitive information was breached. Many scammers and blackmailers had unfettered access to the personal details of countless users, allowing them to resort to extortion and exploitation of the people involved.
The situation blew out of proportion when many even started calling up radio stations asking if their partners were on the list of people that used the website. The hack led to numerous divorces and shattered many families. It also triggered some lawsuits, however, many past users of the website were reluctant to approach the court against Ashley Madison as a case would have meant further exposure and public scrutiny.
As for Noel Biderman, the erstwhile CEO of Ashley Madison, the fallout from the hack was damning. He faced accusations of duping his customers by promising the erasure of data if they paid for it, and still retaining the information. The hack also laid bare his own extramarital affairs. He soon resigned from both Ashley Madison and Avid Life Media.
Biderman has since moved on and found a new identity for himself in the tech sector while reconciling with his wife who has forgiven him for his infidelity. Meanwhile, Ashley Madison persevered despite the hack and is actively running even today, though its user base is not as booming as it was at its zenith before the 2015 hack.
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