Lessons from Ashley Madison: There's No Such Thing As a Safe Secret

Online security is something that we all take for granted and often find neglected in businesses despite the increased frequency of the warnings. 2015 is rapidly becoming the year where everyone’s vulnerabilities are up for judgement rather than just celebrities or companies.

We have become desensitised to stories such as Target agreeing to pay $10 million to data breach victims. However, the latest round of hacks are leaving people asking the very real questions such as how would you feel if anyone could check a website that reveals every aspect of your online behaviour and browsing history?

Last year there was a heated debate about how fragile online privacy and protection is after young female celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence found images from their phones had been leaked online which became known as the Fappening.

Even though everyone knew looking at these images was unequivocally wrong, it didn't stop millions from the online community transforming themselves into potential peeping Toms from the comfort of their home without even realising it.

In a fascinating turn of events, it appears that karma might be about to show the other side of the mirror. In the last month alone there have been two stories that reveal how everyday users of the internet could find their online viewing habits exposed for all to see.

Last month, it was revealed that users who had been frequenting adult websites, even when using the Google cloak of anonymity known as incognito mode, could find all of their online browsing habits displayed on a website for all to see.

Fast forward a few weeks and hackers have threatened to release names, addresses and pictures of members from the Ashley Madison website that encourages married people to seek affairs online with the tagline “life is short, have an affair."

The hackers known as the Impact Team advised that "We’ve got the complete set of profiles in our DB dumps, and we’ll release them soon if Ashley Madison stays online” leaving Avid Life Media Inc to rush out a press release hoping to put a few very worried minds at ease.

With over 37 million members, mostly from the US and Canada, a significant percentage of the population is about to have a very bad day, including many rich and powerful people. - Impact Team

Ashley Madison acted quickly to put their users minds at ease by implementing a somewhat flawed copyright solution by using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to strip the data from websites publishing their data.

Although serial cheaters may have felt a temporary reprieve from this quick fix, it would be incredibly easy for the hackers to leak this data again to other websites in the near future. With most businesses neglecting to invest in online security or tackle the root cause of crippling effects of data breaches, it's safe to say that the stories of the last few months are only to increase. 

The online community has long been likened to a wild west of sorts where people can be whoever they want, lead double lives under a false security of believing that everything is anonymous and cannot be tracked. Of course, this is far from the truth, and many who do not take online security seriously could find this out the hard way.

The same people, who were sharing photos of celebrities last year, could soon find themselves under the microscope as the hackers promote themselves as a decency police of sorts who expose unsavoury habits for the greater good.

These reports suggest that it’s only a matter of time until you will be able to search a database for a friend, spouse, sibling, neighbour or work colleague and discover exactly what they get up online. This is the magnitude of the situation, and it might be just enough to make people question how they behave and realise there is no such thing as anonymity.

For too long people have acted irresponsibly online and also neglected security, but maybe this is the wake-up call that everyone needed and begin to take personal responsibility for their actions.

Only when grasping that there is no way of erasing our digital past, will we comprehend that even in 2015, there is no such thing as a safe secret.

With this in mind, I suspect more and more users will begin to exercise how much information they reveal about themselves when signing up to anything online. In particular, the quick and easy “Sign in with Facebook” option.

Online dating has become the norm, but the pseudonym you hide behind could be a fruitless exercise when you reach to pay with your credit card leaving a traceable trail to your front door.

Celebrities, companies and oridnary everyday people will need to start taking this thorny issue very seriously, because it appears that online security is now everyone's business.

This story is not just about a few shady characters getting caught out on a website that encourages people to have an affair. Even if you browse in "Incognito" mode, every website you ever visit, every Google search you ever perform could one day come back to haunt you.

Maybe, it’s time to switch on our self-awareness radar and begin using the internet to create something positive for the future and help each other out along the way, it’s either that or face the consequences of your actions for all to see. 

If it's too late for you, the Daily Telegraph are encouraging worried members to enter their real name to see if their profile has been exposed to hackers, and the results hammer home a lesson to all readers.

What are your thoughts these latest hacks, attitudes to security and how much people share without realising the risks? 

Let me know your thoughts by commenting below.

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Thanks for reading. You can find my previous LinkedIn articles here, and you can also connect on Twitter at @neilchughes or contact me via my site Technology Blog Writer if you want to reach out or appear on my podcast.