Ashley Madison Hack Update: Attackers Use Dating Site Leak to Multiply Spam, Malware

Various attackers are using the hacking into adulterer website Ashley Madison, in order to spread spam and malware throughout.

It was in July that Brian Kreb said one group of hackers called The Impact Team had let out some "sensitive internal data" that had been lifted from Avid Life Media (ALM). This is a Toronto-based group owning Ashley Madison and also other hookup services, including "Cougar Life and Established Men", according to tripwire.

Even though the information was related to some Ashley Madison users, the Impact Team threatened to expose information related to all the 37 million users unless ALM took Ashley Madison and Established Men offline---for ever.

The adult date finder site got personal data of the customers. Ashley Madison tries to partner couples online, and services married couples, luring clients into extramarital affairs. The hack threatened that they would release the information unless the website closed down, according to christiantoday.

But BBC  visited the sites and found that the spammers' claims are fake. The "stolen" Ashley Madison information has been alleged to have been put up online into multiple websites, including Pastebin and Slexy. However, the supposed leaks were false, while many of the links led to emails and passwords that have been online right from 2011.

More posted links take the reader webpages with "scareware," or "a type of malware that lures victims into downloading unwanted and potentially harmful software after posting fake pop-ups warning users that their computers have become infected with viruses."

There were more links that asked the users to finish a survey or get into a service so that they can access the stolen data. Just a few links lead to images, text, and videos full of malware that might hook itself onto Windows.

Such frauds are usually done by spammers if there is a "high-profile security incident such as the Ashley Madison hack," reveals Pastebin head Jeroen Vader. "Spammers will always try to abuse any trend to get some free exposure, and this Ashley Madison leak is no exception," explains Vader. "It is hard for us to remove everything, but we do actively search for such posts."

Hence, please be careful when you click on unknown links through the web, especially if there are claims that they are taking you to records of stolen information.