Six months ago, a group of hackers calling themselves "The Impact Team" raided the user records and internal databases of infidelity dating site Ashley Madison. It was a watershed moment in the history of cybercrime: the first hack that could ruin not only finances, but relationships and lives.
This, we all figured at the time, would be a turning point for the Web: I personally wrote a piece welcoming readers to the "post-Ashley Madison Internet." But six months after what could very well be called the most personally ruinous hack ever, very little has actually happened.
Industry analysts say that users have largely forgotten the lessons of the hack, and haven't demanded changes in the way sites protect their financial information or privacy. ("Short attention spans," sums up Dave Evans, a consultant on the online dating industry.)
Toronto police are still actively investigating the Impact Team, but say they have "no new updates."
Meanwhile, while Avid Life Media - Ashley Madison's corporate parent - appears to have suffered some damage, the company remains secretive about Ashley Madison and bullish on its future prospects.
The company declined to comment for this story, as it has repeatedly since September. But last month, Ashley Madison flaunted new membership numbers, claiming that some 6.5 million people had signed up since the hack. (An analysis by digital insights firm SimilarWeb reveals that traffic has plummeted 82 percent since August, and what users remain are largely coaxed in by paid ads.) The site's primary shareholders have also promised not to jump ship: In September, Phillip DeZwirek - who, with his son Jason, owned over a third of Ashley Madison at the time of the hack - told the Toronto Sun that "business is continuing" and that no publicity was bad.