Presentation of the Ashely Madison account hack of 2015 and the ethical issues surrounding the hack as well as the company itself.

1. Charly
Michaelis
ASHLEY MADISON
2015 ACCOUNT HACK

2.  Online dating and social networking service targeted towards
married couples or those in a committed relationship
 Privately held company owned by Avid Life Media
 Founded in 2001
 Based in Canada
 Slogan: “Life is short, have an affair.”
 Service based on discretion
WHAT IS ASHLEY MADISON?

3.  The company itself was quite profitable leading up the
account hack in 2015
 Canadian investors realized cash dividends of $90 million since
2009
 Avid Life Media grossed $115 million in 2014 denoting an increase
of three times the gross amount in 2010
 Looking to launch an initial public offering
 Members nearly quadrupled from 2008 to 2013
 12.7 million in the US and 8.3 million overseas
LEADING UP TO 2015

4.  A group coined “The Impact Team” insisted that Ashley
Madison be shut down or user data would be released
 The hack included data on millions of users worldwide
 For a service based on discretion, the fact that hackers were
able to release legitimate data was troubling
 Affects on families
 Public shame brought upon
individual users
2015 ACCOUNT HACK

5.  Infidelity researchers are looking at a potential gold mine
 Problems:
 Over 95% of profiles in the hack were fake accounts
 People may be lying or exaggerating on their profiles
 There could be ways to get around these problems
 There is a strict code of ethics for psychological research
 Researchers could not disclose personally identifiable information
 Researchers must receive informed consent from subjects
RESEARCH ON RELEASED DATA?

6.  Should a company like Ashley Madison be allowed to operate?
 Is the hack the fault of Ashley Madison or the hackers? Who
should be blamed for the affects?
 Should researchers be able to analyze the data?
 Is it reliable?
 Is it proper to do so?
ETHICAL ISSUES

7.  Unethical company but difficult to say they cannot be allowed
to operate
 I believe the fault of the hack falls on both parties
 Ashley Madison guaranteed privacy and fell short
 While the hackers felt they were doing a good thing by discrediting
the company, they likely failed to account for the damage they
caused among families in making the information available to the
public
 While the data is now available to the public, I still feel it
would be most ethical for researchers to seek the subject’s
consent before proceeding
MY TAKE

8.  Browning, L. (2013). Wall Street Loves a Cheater. Newsweek. Retrieved fro
http://www.newsweek.com/2013/10/11/wall-street-loves-cheater-
238080.html
 Covert, J. (2015). Is Ashley Madison IPO doomed because of leak?. New York Post.
Retrieved from http://nypost.com/2015/08/19/is-ashley-madison-ipo-doomed-
because-of-leak/
 Tanner, A. (2015). Even In The Tinder Era, Adultery Site Ashley Madison Keeps
Making Money Hand Over Fist. Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamtanner/2015/01/21/profiting -from-
cheating/#5d227f001b8f
 Satran, J. (2015). Ashley Madison Hack Creates Ethical Conundrum For
Researchers. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ashley-madison-hack-creates-ethical-
conundrum-for-researchers_us_55e4ac43e4b0b7a96339dfe9
SOURCES