Hacked data from Ashley Madison cheating site is posted, report says

Computer hackers who breached AshleyMadison.com, a dating website that targets married people, are reportedly beginning to share the site's user data online.

The hackers uploaded 9.7 gigabytes of data on Tuesday that appear to include member account details and log-ins for the social networking site, which exhorts prospective users, "Life is short. Have an affair."

Wired magazine reported on Tuesday that credit card and other payment information are also part of the data dump.

AshleyMadison.com's owners claimed nearly 40 million users for the site and two related sites at the time of the breach last month.

Wired reported that the data released by hackers included names, addresses and phone numbers submitted by users, though it said a sampling of the data indicated that users "likely provided random numbers and addresses."

The data also included descriptions of what members were seeking: "I'm looking for someone who isn't happy at home or just bored and looking for some excitement," one member wrote. "I love it when I'm called and told I have 15 minutes to get to someplace where I'll be greeted at the door with a surprise — maybe lingerie, nakedness."

In a statement issued Tuesday, the site's owner, Avid Life Media, said its investigation into the breach is still ongoing and that it's "actively monitoring and investigating this situation to determine the validity of any information posted online." The company said it would "continue to devote significant resources to this effort."

The statement continued: "This event is not an act of hacktivism, it is an act of criminality. It is an illegal action against the individual members of AshleyMadison.com, as well as any freethinking people who choose to engage in fully lawful online activities. The criminal, or criminals, involved in this act have appointed themselves as the moral judge, juror, and executioner, seeing fit to impose a personal notion of virtue on all of society."

The hackers, who call themselves the Impact Team, demanded that Avid Life Media take down the site as well as the companion site EstablishedMen.com, which "promises to connect beautiful young women with rich sugar daddies."

The hackers didn't target CougarLife.com, a sister site that promises to connect older women with younger men.