Top of the afternoon to all....
Many of you are aware of the major security breach that took place at Ashley Madison this week. If you do not know, Ashley Madison is the company that helps people sleep around. Their motto is "life is short. Have an affair."
You know my feelings about adultery. I wrote an entry about this exactly four years ago. It is marital abuse, and has no place in civilized society. Whatever sympathies I have for the people who tried to have their information deleted is quite limited.
The company has a service in which it promises that for the mere fee of $19, a file can be erased completely. Hackers stole the 'deleted' files in an effort to prove that there is no such thing as permanent deletion.
I have issues with all hackers. To steal from a company via computer is no different from stealing from the cash register. On top of that, for the hackers to hold the personal files hostage because of the company's mistakes and misdeeds is unreasonable.
That being said, my mother always told me that it takes two people to keep a secret. The warning here was clear. It is an echo of the rabbis from Pirkei Avot (2:5): do not say something that is not meant to be heard, for it will be heard. In this world of computer history, that admonition has never been more true.
The folks who thus went to Ashley Madison were therefore sinning egregiously and naive for thinking it could be kept secret forever. This is why my sympathies are limited.
Nonetheless, I feel compelled to have some sympathy. I am still waiting for the US government's response to the fact that my information may have been hacked. My information was given to the government in good faith. That being said, even naive, egregious sinners are entitled to privacy.
At the end of the day my friends, stay home. Have an affair with your spouse. Your spouse will not mind.
Shabbat Shalom.
R/SCG
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