In the wake of the Ashley Madison hack, we read a few reports that suggested that the revelations may have contributed to a few suicides. There is still fallout happening from that breach and data dump. Dean Balsamini reports:
A prominent New Jersey educator lost his job, his wife, his mind and possibly his freedom — thanks to the Ashley Madison hack, The Post has learned.
[The] district school superintendent of Randolph NJ, sustained severe burns while trying to torch his garage after confessing to his wife and school board he had an account with the infamous infidelity Web site.
[…]
The downward spiral accelerated. On the same day as the suspected arson, [he] was placed on paid administrative leave.
Two weeks later, on Oct. 27, he resigned from his $167,500-a-year job as school boss. Officials said, “It was in the best interest of both parties to end the employment relationship.”
Read more on NY Post.
I’ve omitted his name from the quoted material because his children are old enough to be online and to be Googling. I hope the media does respect their privacy and not make this worse for them. Maybe as a citizen journo I should be providing his name, but it just feels wrong right now. The point of the story is that the breach and data dump have had consequences for people’s lives.
h/t @Cyber_War_News
So…. someone has come very far in life. Obviously he is very smart or he wouldn’t have been where he was.
I can see admitting it to your wife – but was it necessary? I mean there was no email authentication and all. Is it the right thing to do? sure, but like anything else in life, you have to weigh the pros and cons on doing so. You have to know the consequences and whether the action(s) are worth the effort. I am in no way saying lying is an alternative. But if your not asked, don’t bother to cough up information.
Losing a wife is not the end of the world. Torching your garage is. Its not smart to attempt something feeble. Now without thinking clearly his world is totally upside down. A crazy scenario for sure.
If you take anything from this story it should be this; if your in a situation where you mind strays from thinking logically, its best to find a comfort zone and chill out. NOTHING in this world is worth sacrificing your life for – unless its trying to save another life. Making a bad choice often does not allow for a mulligan, or a cry for sympathy. Try to stay level headed and think about what is #1. You. Don’t throw away all your efforts and ladders climbed and bridges. Once you burn those, there is no way back.
The hack did not place anyones details in the system.
The hack was a catalyst, it was not the source of the problem, no matter how much it exaggerated it.
However the info was revealed it would result in the same outcome.
Some people cannot deal with the responsibility of being caught doing wrong, so blame is placed on the way in which the news came out, and those that found out.
If it was a friend or associate that broke the news, they would blame the friend for ruining the relationship, ignoring the fact that it is them that is at fault.
If the hack is to blame for people not dealing with reality when it bites, then this would not be an isolated story, it would be the common reaction, and the suicide rate among those affected would be huge.
However, the percentage of people not dealing well with being caught with their hand in the cookie jar, is no different to normal life where people get caught all the time.