What happened with the Ashley Madison search data leak?

In July 2015, Ashley Madison, a website known for facilitating extramarital affairs, was the victim of a high-profile security breach. A group known as The Impact Team successfully infiltrated the site's databases and accessed sensitive user data. This data included personal information such as names, email addresses, credit card details, and even sexual fantasies of the site’s users. In August 2015, after Ashley Madison's parent company, Avid Life Media, did not comply with their demands to shut down the site, the hackers released over 25 gigabytes of stolen data online. This incident led to widespread public outrage and personal crises for the exposed users, as well as intense media scrutiny. The fallout included reports of blackmail attempts, divorce cases, and even suicides linked to the leak. It also spurred debates on internet security, privacy laws, and the moral implications of both hacking and infidelity-enabling services like Ashley Madison.