Hackers of the cheating website Ashley Madison, The Impact Team, will leak thousands of member photos, user data and private messages. The hackers disclosed in an email to website The Motherboard that one-third of photos are those of male genitals.
In addition to the penis images, the Impact Team has 300GB of employee emails and docs, user chats and messages, reports The Independent. The team said the reason it decided to leak details is the fast growth of the infidelity site's members to 37 million and they want to stop the next 60 million from signing up.
As a result of the leaks, Avid Life Media, operator of the website, is facing at least three lawsuits, two class-action suits were filed last week in Canada and one in the U.S.
The large number of members is being questioned since some of alleged members claim they have never heard of Ashley Madison. One possibility, according to online security experts, is that the personal details were purchased from marketing companies.
Another explanation is fake female profiles were created to attract male members. Doriana Silva claimed in a 2012 lawsuit wherein she sought 13 million euro damage versus Avid Life for Repetitive Strain Injury. Silva said she inputted details of up to 1,000 fake female members which caused the injury. Avid Life filed a countersuit, but the two agreed to drop the case.
Meanwhile, Katherine Hertlein, a licensed marriage and family therapist, explained the large number of Ashley Madison members to the false sense of security that online flirting provides and the relative ease in handing cyber rejection. She points out the thrill of engaging in high-risk behavior is not a factor because it comes with the decision to have an affair.
Hertlein added that having a login and password gave the 32 million Ashley Madison members a false sense of security. Other factors are the global choices and ability to cheat on their spouses or partners any time, reports Healthline.