OKLAHOMA — The cheating website Ashley Madison’s reported hack revealed some Oklahoma government emails.
So far, there have been 21 emails linked to OKC.gov accounts and four linked to OK.gov.
Ashley Madison is a dating website that helps married people cheat. The alleged hackers threatened to release information about millions of customers last month if they didn’t shut the website down.
The website company did not comply, and that’s how the Oklahoma emails were revealed.
At first, it was thought the reported leak might be fake, but independent security experts say it is very real. Tech experts say hackers who targeted the site have published stolen data from more than 1 million users.
A database shows government email domains reportedly linked to Ashley Madison.
Here is what a quick search revealed:
- Tinker Air Force Base – 33
- City of Oklahoma City – 21
- Vance Air Force Base – 2
- Altus Air Force Base – 2
- Oklahoma Department of Health – 2
- Oklahoma Department of Corrections – 1
- Oklahoma Department of Juvenile Affairs – 1
Earlier Wednesday, all you had to do was plug in a name or email address to find out if someone signed up for the service. The website has since been shut down, showing the black screen seen below.
The City of Oklahoma City officials are in disbelief.
“It’s certainly disappointing that employees would go to Ashley Madison in the first place,” Kristy Yager, an Oklahoma City spokeswoman, said.
The OKC.gov domain tied with a Navy domain, a Marine domain, and an Army domain with 21 employee emails on the site. Oklahoma City’s not alone though, as a Michigan.gov domain also had 21 emails in the data dump.
“The fact that you use your work email account is troubling, why would you do that?” Yager asked rhetorically.
That’s a question many taxpayers we spoke with also asked.
“If you’re on the payroll of the citizens, then you should be using it for business only,” taxpayer Jeremy Frazier says.
The website prides itself on “100% discreet service” over an “SSL secure site.” However, the site’s fine print says, “We cannot ensure the security or privacy of information you provide through the Internet.”
“To do it at work, everybody can trace your work email, so it would be dumb to do that,” Yasmin Ramgi, another taxpayer, says.
And now the website with the “most famous name in infidelity and married dating,” can add ‘hacking’ to it’s list of guarantees.
“If you’re not going to hold that position, you’re not going to be respectful, then you should be removed, just that simple,” taxpayer Adrian Smith says.
“Gosh, you shook me, 21 people, government emails and then Tinker?” Ben Barresi, another taxpayer, said.
City officials say they have not been able to identify which specific employees were using their email for Ashley Madison.
The hackers did release a statement today directed towards Ashley Madison’s development team that said in part, “You should be embarrassed for your train wreck of a database (and obviously security).”
Tinker Air Force Base also released a statement:
“According to Tinker officials, the use of government resources, including internet and e-mail, is for official or authorized purposes only. Air Force policy specifically prohibits the use of government communications systems for unauthorized personal use or for any purpose which could adversely reflect on the Department of the Air Force.”
