Ashley Madison Users Extorted for Bitcoin

Ashley Madison users whose information was hacked from the adultery social network and dumped online say they are being extorted. Emails demanding payment in bitcoins in lieu of contacting husbands and wives are being sent to numerous people, according to security firms, who say the threats will only become more frequent and sophisticated. “There is going to be a dramatic crime wave of these types of virtual shakedowns,” said Tom Kellerman, the chief cybersecurity officer at Trend Micro. He said he believes the same criminals who use ransomware—a method of locking valuable files until a ransom is paid—“would love to use this data.”