Ashley Madison had inadequate security safeguards, privacy officials say
Ashley Madison marketed itself as a discreet and secure service, but the site for married people seeking affairs had inadequate security safeguards and policies when it was targeted by hackers, privacy officials in Canada and Australia have found.
More than a year after a massive data breach that made international headlines, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner say their investigation into Ashley Madison has identified numerous violations of the privacy laws of both countries.
In a report released Tuesday, the two agencies said there was a lack of a comprehensive privacy and security framework, even though the site’s parent company knew how important it was, and even went so far as to place a fake security trustmark icon on its home page to reassure users.
“The company’s use of a fictitious security trustmark meant individuals’ consent was improperly obtained,” Canada’s privacy commissioner, Daniel Therrien, said in a statement.