Ashley Madison Hack Update: Suicides Linked to the Security Breach

Suicides have been linked to the AshleyMadison.com hack.

The Canadian-based website that encourages married and committed individuals to cheat, was hacked in mid-July. The hackers, known as the Impact Team, threatened to release the information on the site's users if the owner, Avid Life Media, did not take down the website. The hackers were true to their word and released the information last week.

Since then, there have reportedly been two suicides. The Toronto Police, who have been investigating the hack, announced during a press conference that two of the website's users committed suicide. They did not revealed any more information on the deaths.

 "I want to make it very clear to you your actions are illegal and we will not be tolerating them. This is your wake-up call," the police said directed to the hackers.

The information that was released included personal information, such as names, email addresses, payment information and fantasies. The data, which were dumped online, have been linked to people working in the government, military and corporate companies throughout the world.

Since the release of the information, a national class-action lawsuit was filed for Canadian subscribers. The $578 million lawsuit is targeting Avid Dating Life Inc. and Avid Life Media Inc.

Avid Life Media has offered $500,000 Canadian dollars for information on the hackers.

"Today I can confirm that Avid Life Media is offering a $500,000 (£240,000) reward to anyone providing information that leads to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the leak of the Ashley Madison database," the acting staff superintendent Bryce Evans of the Toronto police added.

The police also warned people against clicking on these links since many of them lead to malware and viruses.