SA Police, ABC emails in “infidelity” website hack
Hundreds of government email accounts, some from the Department of Defence, and others from various state police forces have been listed in a hack of data claimed to be from the Ashley Madison dating service.
A cache of the files, seen by AAP, reveals at least 800 email addresses believed to be linked to users of the website, which offers members the ability to arrange affairs.
The hacker group, Impact Team, made good on a threat to post the information online by releasing the data on Wednesday AEST to the dark web, which operates below the public internet and is only accessible through a special browser.
The contact details of employees from the federal departments of health, education and environment, and from the NSW Attorney-General’s Department were also included.
There were dozens of email addresses from police officers from South Australia, NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia listed in the cache, as well as from the ABC.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Defence have been contacted for comment.
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The sexual fantasies and personal information of millions of users of the cheating website, including Australian members, were released in a massive cache of data of almost 10 gigabytes.
There are postal addresses from around Australia, including Riley Street in Sydney’s Surry Hills, and the details of a wedding photographer in Brisbane.
Among the addresses were phone numbers and names.
However, one Melbourne man, whose details were listed in the dump, told AAP his information had been stolen months ago.
“It’s not good, we had stuff stolen ages ago,” he said.
“We cancel our cards every three weeks – that is the advice from the banks.”
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The file yields intimate information, with one message reading: “I’m open-minded and adventurous (both in and out of the bedroom), and love passionate sex – giving as much as receiving.”
The message included the user’s name, location in Sydney and email address.
Ashley Madison, which describes itself as “the most famous name in infidelity”, was targeted by Impact Team in July.
“Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men,” the hacker group posted on a website on Wednesday.
Avid Life Media, a Canadian-based company, owns both websites.
“We have explained the fraud, deceit and stupidity of ALM and their members,” the hacker group continued.
“Now everyone gets to see their data.”
Avid Life Media responded to the data dump by saying it had referred the matter to law enforcement agencies.
“This event is not an act of hacktivism, it is an act of criminality,” the company said in a statement.
“It is an illegal action against the individual members of AshleyMadison.com, as well as any freethinking people who choose to engage in fully lawful online activities.”
Last year, Ashley Madison claimed to have more than 17 million users in 26 countries.
It’s believed this includes almost one million Australians.
– AAP
