I rally hard against technology being made the scapegoat of evil deeds and the Ashley Madison saga and the release of 33 million members details is a perfect example. It isn’t technology that’s to blame, it’s the sanctimonious people who did it that are and if you’re not sure have a read of their self-serving reason for doing it:

“Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men. We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data.

Find someone you know in here? Keep in mind the site is a scam with thousands of fake female profiles. See ashley madison fake profile lawsuit; 90-95% of actual users are male. Chances are your man signed up on the world’s biggest affair site, but never had one. He just tried to. If that distinction matters.

Find yourself in here? It was ALM that failed you and lied to you. Prosecute them and claim damages. Then move on with your life. Learn your lesson and make amends. Embarrassing now, but you’ll get over it.”

The debate becomes even more muddied as we try to do the human thing and pick a goodie we can cheer for and a baddie we can jeer at, but in this case we’re torn between hating the hackers and hating the “marriage-cheating” sites members.

This interesting human and technological conundrum and the issue of online security in general were the starting point for this  week’s regular on-air catch up with Phil Whelan of Hong Kong Radio 3 and behind this all my advice on online security hasn’t changed in the past few decades –

1. don’t put anything online that you wouldn’t go down to the local market and shout
2. be sure you know what information and rights you’re giving up and to whom, before you tick the accept button on any website or app
3. remember your digital self-will live for ever and be available to everybody everywhere
4. and if you’re unsure and still want to get in then set up a fake profile of yourself complete with a  random Gmail address

Have a listen now..