The Madison files go public. Ashley Madison hackers have released the information of about 37 million subscribers. Since the files have gone public the hackers have spoken out, lists have been found to include WH and congressional staffers, the Pentagon launches an investigation into use by service members and a $380,000 reward is offered.
- Journalists at Motherboard were put in contact with the hackers, who call themselves The Impact Team, after the data dumps. Here is a transcript of their conversation.
- The Associated Press is reporting that hundreds of government employees are included in the Ashley Madison lists. Among them are employees “with sensitive jobs in the White House, Congress and law enforcement agencies,” who, “used Internet connections in their federal offices to access and pay membership fees to the cheating website.” Additionally, the U.S. Postal Service has launched an investigation into its employees using the website as well…it’s always the mailman.
- Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has announced that the DoD will be investigating the more than 13,000 .mil domain names listed on the website, according to PoliticoPro. “Of course it’s an issue, because conduct is very important and we expect good conduct on the part of our people. Yes, the services are looking into it — as well they should be.” Adultery is prohibited under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the laws and regulations that govern the conduct of service men and women.
- Brian Krebs examines early extortion attempts that quickly emerged following the release of information.
- According to Business Insurance, “Avid Life Media Inc., the parent company of the website, is offering a $500,000 Canadian dollars ($379,132) reward to catch the hackers.”
- News is surfacing that Ashley Madison executives might have hacked competitors’ websites. Krebs and Wired have more.
- Newsweek is reporting that the class action law-suites are starting to roll in.
- Was it an inside job? There are some reports that Impact Team might have had help from an employee. Gizmodo has the story.