Ashley Madison Extortion Begins

Ashley Madison Extortion Begins

  • Aug 26, 2015

Organizations are being warned to beware of now-underway spam campaigns and extortion attacks that may target employees who are current or former users of the pro-adultery Ashley Madison online dating site.

The attackers behind the data breach of Ashley Madison - tagline: "Life is short, have an affair" - are continuing to follow through on their July threat to release details about many of the site's 37 million members, unless parent company Avid Life Media shuts down three of its sites, which it has declined to do.

The group called the "Impact Team" has released a third batch of stolen data and suggested they're sitting on up to 300 GB of stolen information. The third archive extracts to a size of about 30 GB and appears to contain Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman's Gmail spool, comprising about 200,000 individual email messages, Doug Hiwiller, a principal security consultant at information security consultancy TrustedSec, says in a blog post. "This will be the extent of our analysis as we do not plan on reviewing any emails, or anything relating to the dump that is around an individual's personal account," he says. But that does not mean others will not do so. "The information is public, and out there."

That data dump follows the "Impact Team" last week also releasing via BitTorrent a 10 GB compressed file containing stolen information, followed by a 20 GB compressed file, although the latter appeared to be partially corrupted. "Hey Noel, you can admit it's real now," the attackers taunted Biderman in a message included with the second dump.

Featured

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

  • Why the Future of Video Security Is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reasons. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.

  • Unified VMS

    AxxonSoft introduces version 2.0 of the Axxon One VMS. The new release features integrations with various physical security systems, making Axxon One a unified VMS. Other enhancements include new AI video analytics and intelligent search functions, hardened cybersecurity, usability and performance improvements, and expanded cloud capabilities