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Leaks show dangerous faith in security of data on the Internet
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INTERNET information security is becoming a topic of increasing concern these days. For proof of this, look no further than the ongoing hullabaloo surrounding the website Ashley Madison.
The website, founded by Noel Biderman in Toronto, Canada in 2002, is an online “match-making” platform marketed to “people who are married or in a committed relationship.”
In other words, the website is designed to enable — and profit from — adultery and infidelity. Basically, after paying a membership fee, the site’s operators promise to connect registered users with their ideal partners. In July, a band of hackers raided the website and 33 million of its 37 million registered users had their personal information divulged online. This included email addresses and credit card details.
Contrary to what some might believe, the attack wasn’t inspired by any noble desire to save marriages from extra-marital affairs. Rather, it was initiated by hackers’ doubts about the website’s claims that it would delete users’ information for a fee of US$19. They threatened to expose the users’ information if the website didn’t close down. It didn’t budge. The hackers acted.
While many are rejoicing in the shaming of an infamous website, its clients are worried that their dirty secrets will be made public. Indeed, two people have reportedly committed suicide over the leak.
Although the website’s members mainly reside in Western countries, it made a foray into Asia in 2013 and has created local language editions in Japan and Hong Kong, though it is banned in Chinese mainland, where public morals are strongly against adultery, yet people still manage to access the website using VPNs (virtual private networks).
Interestingly, according to a report by the Chinese major web portal Tencent there are thousands of Ashley Madison members in Chinese mainland, with 9,853 users in Shanghai alone. Guangzhou came next, with 5,622 users. Even in Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, users number over 1,000. I don’t know how Tencent obtain these figures, but this leakage must have unnerved those whose infidelity might be exposed.
No matter what Ashley Madison’s CEO Biderman says to justify his operations — one of his excuses is that Ashley Madison offers an escape for those trapped in unhappy marriages or relationships — adultery is to be denounced in any decent society.
But upon closer scrutiny, this episode can be understood from a different perspective, as it points to the dangers surrounding the security of information shared online.
Systemic vulnerability
Some may argue that websites with sinister and sleazy reputations, such as Ashley Madison, should make extra effort to protect their users’ privacy. Some may even nurse naive beliefs that once shielded behind a paywall, people can relax in the comfort of anonymity. In fact, almost nothing on the Internet is entirely safe from the watchful eye of the public — or hostile vigilantes.
Myriad technological advances have made it harder to conceal information online. For instance, big data technology can deduce much about a person’s character using only traces of their online browsing history. These scraps of information reveal much about our habits, tastes, and tendencies and are liable to be exploited. Modern society is so integrated that a small lapse can entail serious consequences. An online shopping platform that has been hacked could put millions or billions of bank accounts in jeopardy.
Imagine how many bank accounts could become compromised in the event of a successful attack on Taobao, China’s leading e-commerce platform which boasts about 367 million annual active buyers. While such a possibility is slim for established industry giants like Taobao, the same cannot be said of smaller players.
Compared with IT companies, which know better how to repel attacks from organized hackers, the websites of hospitals, schools, government agencies and other non-tech-related organizations may be in a more vulnerable position.
Today information security is not so much a personal matter as a responsibility of those in charge of managing the data. Security experts have long called for a more robust government role in ensuring that repositories of citizens’ private information be subject to greater oversight. But that is not enough. A system’s level of security can be gauged only through simulative attacks. Institutions who fail the test can’t be trusted with sensitive data.
In a dangerously transparent era, the issue of privacy can be better confronted through the combined efforts of authorities, companies and individuals.
The Ashley Madison saga is a reminder, yet again, of how hostile and intrusive the Internet is toward individual privacy. But apart from learning to be circumspect when handing over information, we ought to think twice about whom we trust with our confidential information.
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