Ashley Madison clients are still waiting (with bated breath, no doubt) to see if their association with the website will be revealed by hacker group The Impact Team.
The hack on Ashley Madison garnered some really sensitive personal information including names, addresses, credit card info, as well as sexual preferences, nude photos, and private chat conversations.
Ashley Madison is, of course, a hook-up website for married people. The slogan for the site is “Life is short. Have an affair.”
That is advice that many an Ashley Madison client are likely wishing they hadn’t taken.
However, as nervous clients wait to see if their indiscretions will be revealed, it seems one group is prepping for an influx in business: divorce lawyers.
→ http://t.co/w6k5Yg9Ojl The Biggest Mistake AshleyMadison Customers Made: Using Their Credit Cards #AshleyMadison … pic.twitter.com/m4UlNCyprV
— Linda (@l1nd0a) July 21, 2015
According to CNN, divorce lawyers could really benefit from this whole scandal.
Nancy Chemtob, a partner at the matrimonial and family law firm Chemtob Moss & Forman, said, “I saw the story last night and my partner came in this morning and said, ‘Forget about same-sex marriages doubling the practice. This is going to be a balloon.'”
Ashley Madison and Cougar Life both hacked. Luckily for me, Women who Like to Make Sandwiches for Men Watching TV uses 3rd level encryption.
— Rory Sutherland (@rorysutherland) July 21, 2015
Chemtob has been seeing at least two clients a month as a result of Ashley Madison. She said that about two thirds of her Ashley Madison-related clients were the ones who signed up for the site and realized they must be missing something in their marriage if they were willing to do so.
The other third of her Ashley Madison clients were the ones caught cheating on the website.
Hard to believe Ashley Madison didn't think of doing some penetration testing.
— Graham Cluley (@gcluley) July 21, 2015
Nancy Chemtob explained just how such a thing could happen in a seemingly normal marriage. She said, “Sometimes spouses are so demoralized by their spouse that they’ll end up posting just to see if they get any responses.”
She added, “A lot of my clients fall in love with [people on the site] or fall in love with the idea of someone telling them they’re tall and handsome when really they’re short and fat. You meet someone who becomes your fantasy.”
Oh, goodness. If The Impact Team decides to release all of the information they gathered during the Ashley Madison hack, there will be a lot of hell to pay around the country for sure.
What do you think of the prospect of a boom in business for divorce lawyers thanks to Ashley Madison? Are you worried about the name(s) you might see on the list?