Judy Holliday’s character Emma “Billie” Dawn in 1950’s Born Yesterday famously stated, “Never do nothing you wouldn’t want printed on the front page of The New York Times.” In July, hackers stole troves of user data from the infamous AshleyMadison website, an electronic marketplace for individuals soliciting extramarital affairs. The hackers threatened to release this data unless Avid Life Media Inc., the owner and operator of Ashley Madison, ceased providing its services. Making good on their threat, the hackers released a significant amount of customer-identifying data. This salacious event is an important reminder that any website, club, organization, political party, or social cause which has gathered and stored electronic data about you might be hacked, and your interest or participation publicly disclosed.

You decide what causes or organizations or companies you support or frequent. We only suggest that you be aware and weigh the risks of disclosure before submitting any personally-identifying data. Remember Judy.

Check out our series, Privacy Perils, to learn what steps you can take to guard your personal and company data. For more information about this topic and other cyber security concerns, please contact a member of our Privacy & Data Security team.