RESPONSE TO THE DATA BREACH
Since the Ashley Madison hack in 2015, ALM (now Ruby Life, Inc.) has paid almost $30 million dollars in fines. Multiple government agencies got involved in the data breach investigation and ultimately, the fines centered around the criminality of profiting from charging for a service that was not provided. Additionally, because individuals had used their government or work email addresses, some people lost their job. United States Secretary of Defense at the time, Ash Carter, said that he was aware that there were 15,000 .gov and .mil email addresses found within the released user data. Carter said that it was problematic from his point of view because adultery is a court martial offence under Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and anyone convicted faces punishment that can include dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and one year’s confinement.
From a social-psychological perspective, there were several suicides reported after the user data was released. Additionally, several of the individuals identified in the data felt that they were treated differently by loved ones and co-workers. Unsurprisingly, there were numerous divorces related to the data breach.
From a legal perspective, legal scholars and students began to examine the legal ramifications of the data breach. For example, could the family of an individual who committed suicide bring a wrongful-death civil suit against ALM? It certainly did not deter some families from trying to do so. However, the consensus within much of the legal scholarship is that a wrongful death case related to suicide would be quite difficult to win. According to legal scholars, to prove wrongful death, the party bring the suit must prove that the defendant caused the death. In the case of suicide, the victim caused their own death and making the claim that ALM actually caused the individual’s death is difficult – especially since every victim of the data breach did not commit suicide.
From a social-psychological perspective, there were several suicides reported after the user data was released. Additionally, several of the individuals identified in the data felt that they were treated differently by loved ones and co-workers. Unsurprisingly, there were numerous divorces related to the data breach.
From a legal perspective, legal scholars and students began to examine the legal ramifications of the data breach. For example, could the family of an individual who committed suicide bring a wrongful-death civil suit against ALM? It certainly did not deter some families from trying to do so. However, the consensus within much of the legal scholarship is that a wrongful death case related to suicide would be quite difficult to win. According to legal scholars, to prove wrongful death, the party bring the suit must prove that the defendant caused the death. In the case of suicide, the victim caused their own death and making the claim that ALM actually caused the individual’s death is difficult – especially since every victim of the data breach did not commit suicide.
