# Where is the Ashley Madison hacked data being posted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2015, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850 "2015-07-22T03:19:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/21 "2015-07-22T18:48:18Z")
> [@grude](#): > > I had heard of the site but know nothing of its operation. > > Are you telling me people use their real names on it?! > > And I though it was a pay site, so how could a troll sign up people? It’s just like a regular dating site except that it specializes. People don’t use their real names on their profiles in general. They may eventually disclose their real names or real life email account in an on site email correspondence with another user. The data breach in the hack will have these emails. You can sign up for an account for free and fill in the profile information and put up pictures. You pay a subscription fee to use most of the useful features after that but you don’t have to do so. Someone could easily make a troll profile. If you did pay for a membership at one time, they have your credit card info which was also part of the breach. Even if you were very discreet on your profile, your real name could be found from that. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/22 "2015-07-22T18:58:42Z")
The owner is rather frothing about how people seem to find this all amusing because of their content and busines model and how this is a crime and can have real consequences for all and we could be victims too. This is totally true. After all: _First they hacked the cheaters and I said nothing, because seriously, fuck those guys._ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/23 "2015-07-22T19:08:13Z")
The news article I heard on the radio said that nothing had been posted yet, but that the hackers were threatening to if the Ashley Madison site wasn’t permanently shut down. And not on my list of things to worry about since I had never heard of the site until this made the news. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/24 "2015-07-23T00:11:50Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > - because seriously, fuck those guys.\* 😃 …without their wives finding out. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > NSA sex? Masturbating while the NSA monitors you? That’s pretty kinky. > > Or does the NSA have teledildonic capabilities now? > > Just for fun I opened the spell checker on teledildonic. It offered only one option: dicotyledon. Kinky indeed. You should not need to spell check teledildonic. You should have that beauty of a word memorized. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/25 "2015-07-23T18:19:40Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > The various reports I have read are silent on this issue and as this was infact a crime (despite targeting some very dubious characters), might not be the best idea to go looking for it. Breaking into computers and stealing data is a crime. Posting that data is probably a crime (I’m guessing copyright violation). Is looking at that data when it’s publicly posted a crime? I don’t think so. I’m not even sure how it reasonably could be. How could someone verify that whatever text they’re reading wasn’t unlawfully obtained? ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/26 "2015-07-23T19:20:21Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I apologize in advance for a hijack, but I’ve never understood- do men who want to cheat pay Ashley Madison to fix them up with women who want to cheat? Or do they make their money some other way? > > I don’t doubt there are slimy husbands out there, but I never trusted Ashley Madison’s claims of huge numbers of clients. Setting up an account was free. Contacting a person with anything more than a Like required a one-time fee. Then, afterwards, when you wanted to, you could suspend your account, which would keep your account out of the search results. However, if you _really_ wanted to hide the evidence, you had to pay $20 so that Ashley Madison would permanently delete all trace of the account from their servers. That’s how they made their money. Of course, they weren’t terribly thorough about that whole, “permanently delete” part of the bargain, because they kept the credit card numbers and user names on file, as was detailed by Ars Tech, here: > **[Ashley Madison, an online dating website for cheaters, gets hacked \[Updated\]](https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/07/ashley-madison-an-dating-website-for-cheaters-gets-hacked/)** > > Hackers say they’ll release data from 37 million profiles unless site shuts down. The hackers are claiming that they have info from accounts that were “fully deleted” as well as employee data and current user info. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/27 "2015-07-24T00:35:37Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Breaking into computers and stealing data is a crime. Posting that data is probably a crime (I’m guessing copyright violation). You can’t copyright raw data. Copyright by definition is for original content. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/28 "2015-07-24T15:56:26Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > You can’t copyright raw data. Copyright by definition is for original content. I don’t know how Ashley Madison works, but if it’s like most dating sites, people upload pictures of themselves, and they give the company a nonexclusive license to display them. The cyberthieves are probably not covered under that license, so that would be a copyright violation for each photograph posted. If they’re literally just posting a database dump of names/addresses/etc., then it still might be covered under the copyright laws for collections of data. The raw data isn’t copyrightable, but the collection and curation of it can be. Consult your nearest copyright lawyer for vague and hedgy advice. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/29 "2015-07-24T16:10:45Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > NSA sex? Masturbating while the NSA monitors you? [/spoiler] So, every time you masturbate. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/30 "2015-07-24T16:28:57Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > If they’re literally just posting a database dump of names/addresses/etc., then it still might be covered under the copyright laws for collections of data. The raw data isn’t copyrightable, but the collection and curation of it can be. Telephone books are collected and curated data and they are not copyrightable. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/31 "2015-07-24T16:47:56Z")
I’ve never looked at the Ashley Madison web site, but it’s not surprising to hear that a lot of their female clients are hookers. Let’s face it- what woman needs to pay a web site to have no-strings sex? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/32 "2015-07-24T16:57:35Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > I’ve never looked at the Ashley Madison web site, but it’s not surprising to hear that a lot of their female clients are hookers. > > Let’s face it- what woman needs to pay a web site to have no-strings sex? Well, I suppose she’d really be paying for the ability to sift through the piles of dudes wanting to have an affair with her and pick out the best looking and wealthiest ones. Beyond the subscription, the site gives opportunities to flaunt your wealth like paying for “cyber roses” and silly stuff like that. Really, you’re just saying “I have $20 to blow on a pointless digital rose to convince you to bang me so presumably I can also pay for a decent meal on the night of the banging”. ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/33 "2015-07-24T17:59:52Z")
As someone who is probably never going to cheat, certainly not I have to do any of the work, my reaction is that three wrongs – the would-be adulterers making profiles, the company charging money to delete a profile and then not doing it (the claimed motivation for the attack), and the attack itself – don’t make a right. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/34 "2015-07-24T22:47:14Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > Setting up an account was free. Contacting a person with anything more than a Like required a one-time fee. Then, afterwards, when you wanted to, you could suspend your account, which would keep your account out of the search results. > > However, if you _really_ wanted to hide the evidence, you had to pay $20 so that Ashley Madison would permanently delete all trace of the account from their servers. > > That’s how they made their money. > > Of course, they weren’t terribly thorough about that whole, “permanently delete” part of the bargain, because they kept the credit card numbers and user names on file, as was detailed by Ars Tech, here: > > [Ashley Madison, an online dating website for cheaters, gets hacked [Updated] - Ars Technica](http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/07/ashley-madison-an-dating-website-for-cheaters-gets-hacked/) > > The hackers are claiming that they have info from accounts that were “fully deleted” as well as employee data and current user info. So why would anyone sign up at this site instead of free dating sites or stuff like tinder? Or just cheating the old fashioned way? It doesn’t see to offer any advantages aside from painting yourself as a cheater? ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/35 "2015-07-24T22:50:06Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > So, every time you masturbate. Someone who masturbates only when on unencrypted digital video over the internet is leading a more exciting life then I am, or maybe less I’m unsure. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/36 "2015-07-24T23:19:51Z")
> [@grude](#): > > So why would anyone sign up at this site instead of free dating sites or stuff like tinder? Or just cheating the old fashioned way? It doesn’t see to offer any advantages aside from painting yourself as a cheater? Because the standard dating sites are not supposed to be for cheating. Of course there are many cheaters there but there are millions more regular people just looking for a date or sex, are not attached and have no interest in a cheater and may well decide to out you when they find out. AM is specifically for cheaters looking or people looking for cheaters. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/37 "2015-07-24T23:37:37Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Telephone books are collected and curated data and they are not copyrightable. That’s true. But some collections of curated data are copyrightable. And if what they post contains even one photograph, that’s enough for a copyright claim regardless of the collection of data argument. If it’s a racy photograph (and I can only assume there are a few such in the Ashley Madison trove), publishing it might fall under some “revenge porn” laws. Going back to my original point: I’d be quite surprised if an enterprising Federal Attorney or DA somewhere couldn’t find a half-dozen crimes to charge someone with for publishing that data (apart from the way they got it), but just searching for it in Google and looking at it is probably legal. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/38 "2015-07-24T23:49:52Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Because the standard dating sites are not supposed to be for cheating. Of course there are many cheaters there but there are millions more regular people just looking for a date or sex, are not attached and have no interest in a cheater and may well decide to out you when they find out. AM is specifically for cheaters looking or people looking for cheaters. That seems to be such a tiny audience, you’d think they could use regular services with just not looking for a long term relationship. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/39 "2015-07-24T23:55:09Z")
> [@grude](#): > > That seems to be such a tiny audience, you’d think they could use regular services with just not looking for a long term relationship. They are married. People looking to date tend to get very vindictive when they find out they they are dating a married person. I assure you that a married person on a regular dating site will get there ass handed to them in short order. Their spouse will be finding out within a week. AM, up until now anyway, guaranteed you a fair amount of discretion. OKCupid and Tinder may as well be a billboard. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850/40 "2015-07-25T00:20:37Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Going back to my original point: I’d be quite surprised if an enterprising Federal Attorney or DA somewhere couldn’t find a half-dozen crimes to charge someone with for publishing that data (apart from the way they got it), but just searching for it in Google and looking at it is probably legal. Since they stole the data for the express purpose of blackmail, I guess I’m forced to agree with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-is-the-ashley-madison-hacked-data-being-posted/725850.md?page=3)