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Ashley Madison hack

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By Dr. Chuck Russo
Program director of Criminal Justice at American Military University

In July 2015, hackers accessed account information of millions of users of the Ashley Madison, Cougar Life, and Established Men websites. These websites facilitate extramarital affairs as well as romantic and sexual encounters.

Ashley MadisonThe information stolen during such database hacks can include personal and financial information that people do not want made public. While this stolen information could result in identity theft and fraud, these recent database hacks may have longer-lasting effects for the criminal justice community.

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These hacks create two levels of impact on the criminal justice community: the need to investigate and solve the crime as well as the potential loss of trust in any public service personnel who may have used these sites.

CNN reported that almost 7,000 user addresses are tied to the U.S. and Canadian governments, including federal attorneys and personnel of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice.

On the local government level, the state attorney of Orange County, Florida, Jeff Ashton, held a news conference where he admitted to visiting the Ashley Madison site from the courthouse network. Ashton is a married man and the publicly elected head prosecutor. Governor Rick Scott of Florida has been asked to have the state’s highest law enforcement agency investigate Ashton’s activity on the site.

Impact on Law Enforcement Officers
If a married law enforcement officer is found to have accessed these sites, that officer’s credibility and truthfulness can be brought into question. A defense attorney could use this information to raise doubts about an officer’s testimony before a judge or jury. Public confidence could be lost.

In Florida, as well as in other states, an officer could even lose his or her ability to be a law enforcement or corrections officer. In Florida, law enforcement and corrections officers are regulated by the Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission (CJSTC). Administrative code 11B-27.0011 deals with moral character as a factor in certification and employment or appointment.

If an officer fails to maintain good moral character as defined by this administrative code, the officer’s certification could be revoked, suspended, or otherwise impacted.

Continue reading the FULL ARTICLE at our sister blog In Public Safety.

In July 2015, hackers accessed account information of millions of users of the Ashley Madison, Cougar Life, and Established Men websites. These websites facilitate extramarital affairs as well as romantic and sexual encounters. While this stolen information could result in identity theft and fraud, it may have longer-lasting effects for the criminal justice community. AMU’s Dr. Chuck Russo writes about how this hack could impact current and future law enforcement professionals.