Two years after its tumultuous and massive data breach exposing millions of its users’ data to the public, the controversial Ashley Madison site — which sets up married or people in committed relationships with others looking for sexual encounters — has finally reached a settlement.
Exposing private details to the public is something that has likely significantly impacted the overall Ashley Madison brand. Given the company’s specialization in discretion — keeping its users’ encounters on the down low — the data breach was a big blow to its reputation.
While the company is still denying any wrongdoing in the cybersecurity issue, Ashley Madison’s parent company, Ruby Corporation, has agreed to a $11.2 million settlement with the 37 million site users. Reuters reported the data breach cost Ruby Corporation over a quarter of its revenue and a $1.6 million fee to the Federal Trade Commission and 13 states.
Anyone impacted by the Ashley Madison data breach is entitled to claim up to $3,500 depending on the documentation they can provide connected to the event. While this may seem like a generous amount, the users impacted — those who may not have wanted their neighbors or spouses to know about their interactions through Ashley Madison — may not feel it is sufficient.
