Affairs site Ashley Madison settles hacking claims for $1.6M
The site, which suffered a major data breach last year, also says it'll set up a system to improve its cybersecurity.
Ashley Madison has to pay up.
The parent company behind Ashley Madison, a dating site for people seeking extramarital affairs, said Wednesday it has agreed to pay a $1.6 million fine for failing to protect user account information, after a massive data breach last year.
Ruby Corp. will pay the charges to settle an investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission and several states, including New York and Tennessee. The company also said it would set up a program to improve security on the site.
"Today's settlement closes an important chapter on the company's past and reinforces our commitment to operating with integrity and to building a new future for our members, our team and our company," Rob Segal, the company's newly-appointed CEO, wrote in a blog post.
The investigation was related to a massive breach last July, when hackers broke into the Toronto-based website's systems and stole 37 million user profiles, as well as internal information about the company.