Cheaters Exposed:Online Cheating Site AshleyMadison Hacked

#1 The dating online site catering to some 37 million cheaters has been hacked.

Mass caches of data from Ashley Madison, the dating site designed to connect people who want to cheat on their spouses, have been accessed and posted online by hackers. Online security site Krebs on Security reports that the individual or group responsible for the hack claims to have "completely compromised the company's user databases, financial records and other proprietary information."

Avid Life Media Inc., which owns Ashley Madison, confirmed the security breach in a statement, apologizing to customers for "this unprovoked and criminal intrusion into our customers' information." The company added that unauthorized data access points have now been closed.

#2 Ashley Madison, the go-to site for people in committed relationships seeking affairs

In addition to accessing what Krebs on Security refers to as "sensitive internal data" from Ashley Madison, the hackers, known as "The Impact Team," obtained info from Avid Life Media-owned hookup sites Cougar Life, which appeals to "single moms and sexy singles looking for a young Stud," and Established Men, designed to connect "young, beautiful women with successful men."

According to a long statement from The Impact Team, posted alongside personally identifying Ashley Madison user data, the hacker group was motivated by the alleged lies Avid Life Media told customers about their ability to completely erase any personally identifying profile information when they pay a $20 fee.

A snippet from the hacker post reads:

"Full Delete netted ALM $1.7mm in revenue in 2014. It's also a complete lie. Users almost always pay with credit card; their purchase details are not removed as promised, and include real name and address, which is of course the most important information the users want removed."

#3 Ashley Madison: "Life is short. Have an affair

The hacker group, which has posted only a small amount of Ashley Madison user data so far, has threatened to publish more each day the company fails to permanently shut down Ashley Madison and Established Men. The Impact Team writes:

"Avid Life Media has been instructed to take Ashley Madison and Established Men offline permanently in all forms, or we will release all customer records, including profiles with all the customers' secret sexual fantasies and matching credit card transactions, real names and addresses, and employee documents and emails. The other websites may stay online."

The hacker group apparently doesn't have much of a problem with Cougar Life.

Boasting the mantra "Life is short. Have an affair," Ashley Madison has been a popular and controversial dating site for people seeking affairs since its launch in 2001. By 2015, the site garnered 124 million visits per month was ranked 18th among all adult sites.

Avid Life Media CEO Noel Biderman says an "ongoing and fast-moving" investigation into the attack is underway. "Like us or not, this is still a criminal act," Biderman added.

Despite the security breach, Avid Life Media says it still "has the utmost confidence in its business" and will continue to be "a leader in the services we provide."

Only time will tell if adulterers agree... or if they'll just meander over to another sleazy cheating site, surely to be popping up in the near future.