Hackers claim to have personal details of more than 37 million cheating spouses on dating website Ashley Madison and have threatened to release nude photos and sexual fantasies of the site's clients unless it is shut down, blog KrebsOnSecurity reported.
Ashley Madison's Canadian parent, Avid Life Media, confirmed the breach on its systems and said it had since secured its site and was working with law enforcement agencies to try to trace those behind the attack.
The hackers, who call themselves The Impact Team, leaked snippets of the compromised data online and warned they would release customers' real names, profiles, nude photos, credit card details and "secret sexual fantasies" unless their demands were met, Krebs said.
The hackers also demanded the closure of another of Avid Life Media's sites, sugar-daddy site "Established Men", but did not target the company's "CougarLife" site, which caters for women members looking for "a young stud".
Ashley Madison, which uses the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair", has been planning to raise up to $200 million through an intial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
The breach comes about two months after dating site Adult FriendFinder was compromised. That site has an estimated 64 million members.
The Impact Team, in a screengrab showing on the Krebs blog, say it had taken over Avid Media systems including customer databases, source code, financial records and emails.
"Shutting down AM (Ashley Madison) and EM (Established Men) will cost you, but non-compliance will cost you more," the hackers said.
They said users who had paid a fee to Avid Life to have their personal data permanently deleted had been lied to and the company had retained records, including credit card information.
Ashley Madison's Canadian parent, Avid Life Media, confirmed the breach on its systems and said it had since secured its site and was working with law enforcement agencies to try to trace those behind the attack.
The hackers, who call themselves The Impact Team, leaked snippets of the compromised data online and warned they would release customers' real names, profiles, nude photos, credit card details and "secret sexual fantasies" unless their demands were met, Krebs said.
Ashley Madison, which uses the slogan "Life is short. Have an affair", has been planning to raise up to $200 million through an intial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.
Advertisement
The Impact Team, in a screengrab showing on the Krebs blog, say it had taken over Avid Media systems including customer databases, source code, financial records and emails.
Advertisement
They said users who had paid a fee to Avid Life to have their personal data permanently deleted had been lied to and the company had retained records, including credit card information.
© Thomson Reuters 2015
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Bitcoin, Ether ETNs to Launch on London Stock Exchange, Here’s What That Means Chinese-Founded Fashion Giant Shein Likely To Launch IPO In UK Instead Of US: Report India Will Explore London Stock Exchange To List Local Firms: UK Minister Karnataka's 100% Quota Bill For Kannadigas In Private Firms For These Posts Why IAS Officer Puja Khedkar's Training Has Been Put On Hold Is Earth Orbiting Sun Or A Point In Space? Read This Fascinating Analysis Homeless Man, Carrying Knives, Shot Dead By Cops Outside Republican Event 220-Foot NF 2024 Asteroid Racing Towards Earth, NASA Alerts 4 Top Leaders Quit Ajit Pawar's Party In Major Setback After Poll Drubbing Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.