Ashley Madison
What Happened
In July 2015, the infidelity website Ashley Madison suffered a serious data breach. The attackers threatened Ashley Madison with the full disclosure of the breach unless the service was shut down. One month later, the database was dumped including more than 30M unique email addresses. This breach has been classed as "sensitive" and is not publicly searchable, although individuals may discover if they've been impacted by registering for notifications. Read about this approach in detail.
Compromised Data
Recommended Actions
Change Your Password
If you haven't changed your password on this service since the breach, do so immediately.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
If 2FA is supported, add an extra layer of security to your account.
Check Other Accounts
If you used the same password elsewhere, change those too.
Monitor for Suspicious Activity
Watch for unusual login attempts, spam and phishing emails.
Breach Overview
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Affected Accounts:
30.8 million
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Breach Occurred:
July 2015
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Added to HIBP:
18 Aug 2015
Breach Classification
HIBP enables you to discover if your account was exposed in most of the data breaches by directly searching the system. However, certain breaches are particularly sensitive in that someone's presence in the breach may adversely impact them if others are able to find that they were a member of the site.
A sensitive data breach can only be searched by the verified owner of the email address being searched for. This is done via the notification system which involves sending a verification email to the address with a unique link.
There are presently 74 sensitive breaches in the system including Adult FriendFinder, Ashley Madison, and others.
Recommended Actions
Change Your Password
If you haven't changed your Ashley Madison password since 2015, do so immediately.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication
Add an extra layer of security to your account.
Check Other Accounts
If you used the same password elsewhere, change those too.
Monitor for Suspicious Activity
Watch for unusual login attempts or messages from your account.
