What is Ashley Madison? All about the controversial ‘affair’ application ahead of Hulu documentary 

Ashley Madison, a name that created quite a stir, will be on our screens on Hulu thanks to ABC News Studios and Wall to Wall Media. Releasing on July 7, 2023, The Ashley Madison Affair will navigate the nuances of the infamous data breach on the website caused by a notorious group known as The Impact Team.

Among the other ABC News Studios releases on Hulu, The Ashley Madison Affair will look into the way the scandalous platform functioned, from recruiting members to participate in extramarital affairs to concealing the total number of users on the web page.

IMDb offers a brief overview of the case that the Hulu docu-series is based on,

"Ashley Madison was a popular site, signing up millions of would-be adulterers around the world. However, one July morning in 2015, as employees at the Toronto headquarters logged on to their computers, a message flashed up: "Shut down Ashley Madison immediately (or) we will release all customer records, profiles, s*xual fantasies... real names and addresses".

It continues,

"As Ashley Madison's owners were set to launch the company in a billion-dollar IPO, they refused to comply with the demands of the hackers, known as the "Impact Team." Thirty days later, the Impact Team made good on their threats and released almost 10 gigabytes of user details onto the dark web with disastrous consequences for people who had signed up to the site, ranging from suicide to blackmail to public shaming."

The documentary based on one of the worst scandals of the 21st century intends to serve as a cautionary tale.

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Ashley Madison - The data breach and its consequences

Ashley Madison is owned by a Toronto-based company known for owning sites for encounters - Avid Life Media (ALM). The platform was initially meant for extramarital affairs as it was advertised on radio and TV commercials, and billboards. A large number of their advertisements were turned down by mega organizations such as the Australian National Rugby League team the Cronulla Sharks, Italian basketball club Virtus Roma, and Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) as they refused, saying:

"When it's a core fundamental value around cheating or lying, we're not going to let those kinds of ads go on."

The business model was based on a simple credit system wherein the male could initiate a conversation with eight credits and the following conversation is complimentary. One could purchase a Member Initiated Contact or MIC for $19-29 depending on the country of origin. MIC was a subscription service for free messaging. A real-time chat feature was also available.

The platform allowed users to hide their accounts at no added cost and one could delete their accounts (or accounts made without the user's consent) permanently at a $19 fee. This full delete option guaranteed the deletion of user profiles, message history, site usage history, and any kind of personally identifiable information.

However, after the data breach in 2015, it was discovered that all deleted data was recoverable and present within the system.

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The consequences and lessons to be learned

The Impact Team leaked the data of a fraction of the 37 million users' account data that was online. This included company data as well - details of ALM servers, employee network details, and financial information.

Given the controversial premise, ABC News Studios along with the direction of Johanna Hamilton will be premiering this insightful documentary to showcase the importance of privacy in today's technological climate and the changing dynamics of modern-day relationships.