Ashley Madison puts a £240,000 bounty on finding its hackers

Things are taking a decidedly dark turn in the already murky story of the Ashley Madison hack. 

After The Impact Team made good on its threats to dump the stolen membership details of 33 million Ashley Madison members on the dark web, the slow grind of embarrassing-to-appalling headlines have populated the web - from details of high-profile figures said to use the site, to the apparent suicide of some exposed users.

Avid Life Media, the company who operates Ashley Madison and a number of other dating websites, has now offered a bounty of $500,000 Canadian (£240,000) to anyone who can provide details on The Impact Team and its members.

When The Impact Team stole the Madison members data last July, the group didn't make a request for money, but rather acted on a belief that the website shouldn't be allowed to exist.

They also objected to the company's more clandestine money-making system, which sees members have to pay to remove their details, rather than being able to unsubscribe to the service on request. The Impact Team hack proved that such details were never deleted.

Avid Life Media hope that by identifying the Impact Team, they might be able to send a clear message that there is no anonymity in such a hack, and that they will face charges for their activity. 

Here's hoping the whole exploit doesn't take any darker turns.

[Via: Cnet]

(Image: AllStar)