What was the Ashley Madison website hack about?

The Ashley Madison website hack of 2015 was a high-profile cybersecurity breach involving the adult dating and social networking service that marketed itself to people seeking extramarital affairs. A group called The Impact Team gained access to the company's databases and threatened to release users' personal information—names, addresses, credit card data, and sexual preferences—unless the site was taken offline. Despite initial resistance from Avid Life Media, Ashley Madison's parent company, the attackers eventually released the data, leading to widespread public and personal repercussions. This hack raised significant privacy concerns and sparked international conversations about infidelity, digital security, and the morality of the service provided by Ashley Madison.