Repercussions of the Ashley Madison Hack Still Mounting

Up until July, 2015, the dating site Ashley Madison was known for it’s sleazy tagline, late night commercials, and oddly direct and explicit marketing towards married men.  But other than that, few people had much to say about the site: it existed since the early 2000’s as something of an immoral outlier in the internet dating scene, but most people just assumed that no one they knew used the site, or that the whole thing was some kind of sick joke.  Nowadays, Ashley Madison users and the general public alike have come to realize that the site was all too serious, as victims of the high profile “Ashley Madison hack” are beginning to feel repercussions from their involvement with the dating service.  Here’s what happened.

Ashley Madison Hack: a Brief Timeline

If you haven’t been following the news surrounding the Ashley Madison hack, here’s a quick look at the timeline of what’s transpired so far to get you up to speed.  On July 15th, 2015, a group of hackers called “Impact Team” announced that they had stolen Ashley Madison’s consumer data, and would release all of the information unless some demands were met.  Namely, “Impact Team,” had some big issues with the fact that Ashley Madison charged users who hoped to leave the service a $19 dollar fee to delete their data, and then apparently didn’t erase user information as promised.  “Impact Team” called for a total shutdown of Ashley Madison and sister site EstablishedMen.com.

When Avid Life Media, Ashley Madison’s parent company, did not take any measures to shut down either site, “Impact Team” followed through with their promise.  On July 22nd, the first user data was published.  By August 18th, all of the user data for customers of the site was made public.  Today, you can search through a number of online services to see if you or someone you know had their information released, and all of the customer information of everyone on the site is essentially now public knowledge.

The Repercussions of the Ashley Madison Hack

From a personal perspective, the individuals whose information was released through the Ashley Madison hack are facing a whole lot of scrutiny.  The site’s tagline is “Life is short.  Have an affair.” so it’s somewhat hard to argue that anyone with an account didn’t intend to participate in some extramarital activity.  Some user profiles were created with other people’s email addresses, so there are some entirely innocent victims in all of this.  But for the most part, most users who have had their information leaked had to know that their membership on the site wasn’t the most moral of choices.

Now, with the information being released, the lives of Ashley Madison members will be changed forever.  In some cases, families are getting pulled apart, as wives reasonably confront their spouses and demand a divorce.  In other cases, individuals are losing their jobs, as employers with morality clauses in their contracts point to the leaked information and demand resignations.  Just about no one who had their information leaked is going to come out unscathed, and the repercussions of the hack are still developing. 

Release of Private Information

Early search sites allowed anyone who was curious to plug-in an email and see if there was an attached Ashley Madison account.  But now, search indexes are releasing and cataloguing a lot more information, and you can easily and quickly pull up a whole ton of private information on anyone affected by the hack.  Some search sites are even publishing the home addresses of Ashley Madison members, ostensibly to get innocent people off of the hook whose emails may have been entered as a prank or incorrectly.  But what these search engines really amount to is a massive invasion of privacy, as so much private information being in the public domain has a big effect on victims,

Advertisers have already started taking advantage of this information to spam Ashley Madison members with junk mail and product offers.  Some search sites are even reaching out directly to those whose information is discovered, advertising the services of private investigators and other directed products as obscure as STD tests and as grim as divorce attorneys.  And this is probably just the beginning: with so much information being public, it’s only a matter of time before more people exploit it.

Is Your Data Ever Safe Online?

The short answer to this question is no.  No matter what kinds of sites you frequent online, your data is never entirely safe once it has been entered, especially when it is associated with a user profile.  Every website out there can be hacked; Ashley Madison is the most recent, but there are plenty of other example of hackers finding their ways into private personal data repositories.

Which begs another question: what exactly were Ashley Madison members thinking when they entered so much personal information on the site?  If you want to keep yourself safe, it’s a good practice to enter as little info as possible online, especially to a site as dubious as Ashley Madison.  And if you do enter your personal information freely around the internet, don’t be too surprised if that information is someday made public. 

Preserving independent living, where ever practical, not only boosts feelings of self-esteem, control and dignity, but also eases day-to-day life by decreasing dependence on others. That’s why the importance of encouraging self-reliance in those with movement and strength problems can not be overemphasised. Furthermore, increased independence produces a safer living environment, especially in the elderly, as individuals are less likely to pose a risk to themselves when undertaking daily tasks.By following the below independent living advice and practising the methods detailed, independent living could be attainable to many. To see how we can help -

1. ONLY COUNT ON HELP WHERE NECESSARY

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2. IF FEASIBLE, MANAGE OWN MEDICATION AND APPOINTMENTS

 Whilst this independent living aid would not be advisory for all people (such as those fighting dementia), if your sufferer is able to manage their own prescribed medications and consultations, this can massively increase their independence, and offer a feeling of control. This process can be made easier by setting phone reminder alerts both for consultations and to take prescription medication. You can also request that physicians send email/text reminders for appointments.

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 Introducing smartphones is a great way to increase self-reliance in those with reduced mobility, especially amongst seniors, who may be unfamiliar with them. Smartphones give even bed-bound patients a level of self-reliance by offering both a connection with the outside world, and the ability to request help at the touch of a button. This in turn fosters a sensation of security and lowers the need to have a carer present at all times, while also easing companionship.

4. DECLUTTER THE HOME

 Ensuring effortless movement between rooms is one of the best, and most straightforward, ways to encourage self-sufficiency in the house, both from an ease-of-use and safety standpoint. Remove anything which could induce trips or falls, such as mats and wires, and add additional lighting (and motion sensors) where necessary, to both inside and outside the house. For people with damaged sight, place vibrantly coloured tape to the edges of stairs for extra support.By making movement between rooms as smooth as possible you will not only increase the patient’s safety but also reduce the need for a carer to be present.

5. HAVE A CLINICAL ALERT SYSTEM IN PLACE

Having a trusted medical alert system in place makes it possible for senior citizens to carry on living autonomously, yet rest assured that if something was to happen, an alarm would immediately become activated. Medical alert systems are for that reason crucial in making sure that self-reliance doesn’t compromise safety. More Advice -

6. PLAN FOR SAFETY

Fall systems should also be in place as a safety measure, and specialist smoke alarms installed, especially if your patient has hearing or visual difficulties. Expert smoke alarms are wirelessly connected, meaning that if one is set off, all are triggered, and some even feature vibrating pads. Get in touch with your local fire and rescue company to go over these specialist options further. If you need help setting up home security and safety measures, you can call upon Age UK’s handyperson services.

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