Cheating site had inadequate security, privacy officials say

Privacy officials in Canada and Australia have found that cheating website Ashley Madison had inadequate security safeguards and policies despite marketing itself as a discreet and secure service

More than a year after a massive data breach at the website for married people seeking affairs that made international headlines, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner said Tuesday that their investigation into Ashley Madison had identified numerous violations of both countries' privacy laws.

The two agencies say in a report that there was a lack of a comprehensive privacy and security framework, even though the site's parent company knew how important it was, and even went so far as to place a fake security trust mark icon on its home page to reassure users.