It’s been five years since one of the most notorious cyber attacks in history; however, the scandal is not done yet as the 37 million people exposed are being extorted by a new scam.
To recap the breach in July 2015, a group called “The Impact Team” gained access to Ashley Madison’s database of users’ private information including personal information, nude photographs, banking information, and other private information. For anyone who used the platform, this was their worst nightmare. Despite users engaging in promiscuous behavior on the platform, having your most private information available to the internet is never acceptable.
However, this data breach is far from over for those users involved in the initial Ashley Madison breach. The most recent extortion attempt is targeting the 37 million exposed with highly personalized emails utilizing data from the breach to show validity to their attempt to expose them.
To instill credibility, the attackers have encrypted their demands within a password protected PDF to bypass potential email spam traps in order to reach the user’s inboxes. The email contains their private conversations, images, and a message that demands a fiscal ransom. Failure to pay will result in a release of private information for the world to see.
More details of this cyber attack will follow.
For those who are looking to protect their businesses (or client’s businesses) from similar cyber attacks, should contact Evolve MGA.
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