AshleyMadison.com, the 37-million-user online dating site for people looking to have affairs, has brought in PR support amid a reported hack.
Levick is providing crisis communications counsel to the Toronto-based company, following a July 19 report by cybersecurity site Krebs on Security that the “dating service” was breached and larges caches of user data were posted online.
AshleyMadison.com, owned by Avid Life Media and self-proclaimed as "the most famous name in infidelity and married dating," said July 20 it is investigating the breach.
"We apologize for this unprovoked and criminal intrusion into our customers' information," the company said in a statement. "The current business world has proven to be one in which no company's online assets are safe from cyber-vandalism, with Avid Life Media being only the latest among many companies to have been attacked, despite investing in the latest privacy and security technologies."
MSLGroup vet Paul Keeble is VP of communications for Avid Life. Levick is based in Washington.
Avid Life said it is working with law enforcement agencies.
Krebs reported that hackers identifying themselves as "The Impact Team" hit AshleyMadison.com, as well as CougarLife.com (older women looking for young men) and EstablishedMen.com (matching "beautiful women with successful men").
There’s a fine line between newsjacking and taking advantage, aka ambulance chasing. Our job as PR professionals is to tread it carefully.
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