So your name is in the Ashley Madison database … are you a cheater?:
“There was no requirement for verification prior to being added to their database,” said Christopher Parsons, a post-doctoral researcher and cyber-security expert at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab.
“It’s entirely possible that people’s email addresses were added by friends or co-workers as a prank.”
But, he said, the likelihood of that “is somewhat low.”
Just because someone’s email address can be found in the database doesn’t mean they were active users who committed adultery. They could have just been curious about the site, Parsons said.
While those who registered for the site using their official, government-issued email addresses may be naïve, Parsons said some of them may have done so intentionally.
“Perhaps they share a personal email account with their spouse or partner,” he said. “Using their government account might have been seen as safer.”
Although there have been larger data breaches in the past, Parsons said the Ashley Madison hack is worrying because government officials found using the site could become victims of blackmail.
It’s happened after data breaches in the U.S. and could happen just as easily in Canada, he said.
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