How do you know if your data is safe with
the different companies around the world? How can you be certain that your credit
card information and order history is safe some online stores such as Amazon
and eBay? Would you pay a fee so that your data is deleted from the servers of companies
once you log off their website? I would.
Well, this is
exactly what many of the users of Ashley Madison did. The site has a feature
called “Paid-Delete”. The feature works in that users would have all of their
data deleted from the website’s servers for a fee of $19 per month. Ashley Madison
claimed that they deleted the following (2015, ArsTechnica):
·
Removal of the profile from the
site.
·
Removal of messages sent and received.
·
Removal of messages from recipient's
mailboxes including Winks & Gifts.
·
Removal of site usage history and
personally identifiable information from the site.
·
Removal of photos.
These users in particular
thought that they were safe and guarded against data theft which was far from
the truth. All of their data was included with the data leak. I’m not sure if
the company lied and did not delete the data, of if the hackers were able to recover
the deleted data. Either way, they was definitely not safe.
As a result of
the data leak of the “Paid-Delete” customers, they have filed a $578 million
class-action lawsuit against Ashley Madison (2015, Tripwire). They paid for a service
that was not given to them, and their data was revealed to the world.
(2015, July 20). Paying $20 to delete your
Ashley Madison profile was probably a bad idea [News Post]. Retrieved from http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/07/cheaters-hook-up-site-ashley-madison-makes-account-deletion-confusing/
(2015, September 1). The Ashley Madison Hack – A Timeline [News
Post]. Retrieved from http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-data-protection/cyber-security/the-ashley-madison-hack-a-timeline/
Posts
Sadly to say the world we live in today is corrupt. I feel as if the word "privacy" means nothing. By its very nature, the act of getting online is a risky affair.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy for us to forget that because we often use the internet from the safety of our own homes, and they even warn people about the danger of using "public" access points instead of your definitely safe home network. However, even when people are dealing with big, security minded companies, its worth remembering that nothing makes it impossible for bad things to happen. People get caught in the moment and by the time they finally realize what they are actually doing, its far too late.