(NewsNation) — The dating website for married people seeking affairs, Ashley Madison, has doubled its membership since a devastating 2015 hack that exposed millions of customers’ information, according to a former executive.
Evan Back, who served as vice president of sales at Ashley Madison after the cyberattack, said the company invested tens of millions into improved security and infrastructure following the breach.
“At the end of the day, for the two years that I worked there after the hack, there was millions, tens of millions of dollars invested into infrastructure and security,” Back said Tuesday on NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live.” “They have probably the most robust security of any dating platform now.”
The 2015 hack by an anonymous group released personal data from Ashley Madison’s systems, exposing customers’ real names, emails, credit card transactions and more.
Some of the notable names that were revealed as members through the hack, included Hunter Biden, YouTuber Sam Rader, reality TV star Snooki’s husband Jionni LaValle and Josh Duggar.
Back said the company’s comeback showed it is “probably a very well run business now,” despite a new Netflix documentary also alleging Ashley Madison once used fake female profiles to lure men.
The Netflix docuseries “Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal” chronicles the rise and fall of the Ashley Madison website. The website’s promotional tagline is “Life is short. Have an affair.”
The site’s former CEO, Noel Biderman, stepped down after his emails detailing multiple affairs were leaked, contradicting his previous claims of being faithfully married. His wife Amanda was often by his side in promoting the company.
“It was devastating to his wife,” Back said of the leaked emails. “There’s a lot of innocent people around that are dealing with the fallout from his evil or negative actions.”