Hackers want to know what your sexual kinks are, and dating sites are telling them

If you are a frequent user of online dating platforms, be warned: the way they are getting relentlessly hacked, soon the only thing you’ll be kissing is your sensitive data goodbye.

It’s no coincidence that popular dating sites, such as Ashley Madison, OkCupid, and BeautifulPeople.com are being constantly attacked by hackers.

Private data really doesn’t get any more private than the stuff you share on dating websites. Could you imagine having your list of sexual fetishes leaked? Or maybe all the cringe, flirty messages you’ve sent over the years?

It is clear that dating websites have data security systems in place that are greatly disproportionate to the sensitivity of the data their users trust them to safeguard.

So what can dating websites, or any business tasked with the protection of sensitive data, do to keep their customers’ data secure?

In the recent Rosebuttboard.com hack, more than 100,000 members’ accounts were exposed.

Rosebuttboard is a forum for people who partake in the devastation of the derriere. Can you imagine how crappy it would be to have the world know about your private desires?

Rosebuttboard used out-of-date software and security strategies with known vulnerabilities, making them easy to pick for cybercriminals.

What you should do: Avoid being the butt of hackers’ jokes by keeping all of your software patched, and up-to-date, ensuring that the versions you use have no known flaws. This instantly makes it harder for hackers to breach your system.

In addition to using an out-of-date forum system, Rosebuttboard also used an archaic and easily crackable encryption method to store their users’ personal information.

And in OKCupid’s big hack of 2014, it was revealed that users’ passwords were saved in plain text.

Using outdated encryption methods (or not using any at all) is about as safe as leaving the key to your house under the doormat on your front porch.

What you should do: Encrypt all your sensitive data! That way, even if hackers somehow find their way into your network and steal your encrypted data, they will have the equivalent of a safe they don’t know the combination to.

Adult dating site Fling.com has also been a victim of a data breach, with information such as sexual preferences, emails, and old passwords being hawked on the dark web. Mysteriously, even the personal information of people who had deleted their accounts was found amongst the data.

Even worse is the now-infamous Ashley Madison hack. It aired the dirty laundry of 32-million cheating spouses, and even lead to multiple suicides.

Ashley Madison’s story is a classic example of why data security should be taken seriously: post-breach, their web traffic plummeted by 82%, and they are still fighting against a $567 million lawsuit.

Among Ashley Madison’s poor security practices, the worst was their “Full Delete” option that didn’t even work. The option promised complete removal of users’ traces on the site, for a small fee of $19.

Ashley Madison reportedly netted $1.7 million USD from this service. Yet, from the data leaked, even sensitive information from those that had paid for this service was found.

What you should do: If you don’t need it, fling it! Preventing data buildup will ensure that there is less data for hackers to steal.

The Business-As-Usual Approach

All these tips point to the importance of engaging in BAU security practices. In today’s data-centric world, integrating security tactics in your everyday business is critical in ensuring that your company stays safe from prying eyes.

Vulnerabilities must be patched as soon as they are discovered, network intruders have to be detected quickly, and data must be carefully monitored and safeguarded.

Keeping an eye on your company’s sensitive data buildup is no small feat, ordinarily. Extraordinarily, Ground Labs’ Enterprise Recon software helps customers manage sensitive data across their entire network, and aligns perfectly with the goal of making security a BAU process.

Real-time scanning, role delegation, scan scheduling — these features make it incredibly easy for any business to take control of their data, and ensure that no sensitive data goes undiscovered. It’s both the easiest and the safest way to ensure that even if hackers break into your network, there will be nothing for them to steal.

Learn more about Enterprise Recon today for a first-hand look at how easy it can be to manage sensitive data across your entire company.