Name and Shame Game

In the aftermath of the Ashley Madison data breach, I am left wondering what’s next. 

First, Target, a household name is hacked and at the expense of millions of people’s bank accounts and information.  Then, places like Home Depot, Michaels, Neiman Marcus, and PF Chang’s follow in their ill fated fortune.  Again, at risk, banking information, possibly some personal information like address, contact info, etc.  In those instances, people were after cold hard cash and the ability to access more and more of it.  Then, there is the recent Sabre breach that hits pretty close to home for us in Travel. 

The Ashley Madison breach has me shaking my head.  Look, I am not stepping up for the people who were using Ashley Madison to step out, but what were the hackers after?  Money?  I don’t think so.  Extortion?  Possibly if it was the right person.   Name and shame?  That’s my guess!  Knowing that people are simply out to bring others down in this era of data breach bedlam (kind of a pun) is scary.  Maybe they were looking for the names of politicians, celebrities, etc. and I am sure they found them, plenty of them!  They also found plenty of people who never thought their names would be out in public.

Back to my question, what’s next?  Will pharmacies be hacked to share the names of people with illnesses?  Will education systems be under attack for the information on students in specialized programs?  Will Netflix be hacked so people can see I am hooked on binge watching Scandal and Grace & Frankie? 

Then, when they get this info, what will do with it?  What does sharing the Ashley Madison list do for the hacker?  While I don’t think thievery is good, it’s a motive that most people can understand.  I don’t get it! 

I am going to keep going through all of this and hope that those impacted by any breach do the same!