Ashley Madison CEO Steps Down Amid Severe Breach

The CEO of Avid Life Media, the company behind dating site for cheaters, Ashley Madison, has stepped down from the company for unknown reasons, less than a week after several gigabytes worth of his private emails were leaked online by hackers who breached the company’s networks.

Avid Life Media CEO, Noel Biderman’s decision to step down was in mutual agreement with company executives, company officials said in a statement. Biderman’s departure comes as researchers begin to comb through the massive dump of emails raising ethical questions about the company’s business practices as well as Biderman’s personal tactics.

“This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees,” company officials wrote Friday. “We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base.”

Biderman’s troubles only began last month, when Ashley Madison employees got to their desk and turned on their computers where they greeted with a message, alongside the AC/DC song Thunderstruck, informing the company that their entire network had been compromised. In turn, hackers demanded Avid Life Media shut down and permanently delete Ashley Madison, the website whose tagline touts “Life is short. Have an affair.” or the company would risk having all their data leaked online. A month later, after Avid Life Media ignored hackers demands, the leak began, only the start to ruining Biderman’s career.

Since the release of the several hundred gigabytes of Ashley Madison data, that hack has proved to be a complete disaster for the dating website for cheaters. As the company promises discretion, the breach has raised serious questions about the company’s security practices and how they treat user data. Researchers who have combed through the trove of data have been uncovering footprints that suggest Ashley Madison employee’s may have run a large portion of female accounts, meaning little to no real women registered on the service at all.

Ultimately, the breach has been a nightmare for the company due to their shady business model and shady tactics. Avid Life Media’s full statement regarding Biderman’s resignation is as follows:

STATEMENT FROM AVID LIFE MEDIA – August 28, 2015

Effective today, Noel Biderman, in mutual agreement with the company, is stepping down as Chief Executive Officer of Avid Life Media Inc. (ALM) and is no longer with the company. Until the appointment of a new CEO, the company will be led by the existing senior management team.

This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees. We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base.

We are actively adjusting to the attack on our business and members’ privacy by criminals. We will continue to provide access to our unique platforms for our worldwide members.

We are actively cooperating with international law enforcement in an effort to bring those responsible for the theft of proprietary member and business information to justice.

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Please direct all media inquiries to: media@avidlifemedia.com

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