Final Project Assignment 3 Final Post

DESCRIBE FINAL PROJECT CASE

Ashley Madison was is site that capitalizes on the fact that people cheat on their spouses. 2015 hackers breached their systems. The hackers then reached out to Ashley Madison and threatened them. Saying  that unless if their site was taken down, they would expose the company's sensitive information and that of their subscribers as well. Ashley Madison did not shut down the site, so the hackers followed through with their promises. Ashley Madison's stolen information was leaked to the public online exposing hundreds and thousands of peoples information. Families were able to go online and searched for the names of their loved ones to see if they had signed up to Ashley Madison. Iin the end, Ashley Madison settled with the federal government for 1.7 million dollars. Today they are struggling to rebuild their trust with their subscribers.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/12/14/news/ashley-madison-settlement/

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/love-sex/ashley-madison-hacking-accounts-married-man-exposes-cheating-website-infidelity-rick-thomas-a7529356.html

https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/1708802/sex-lies-and-cyber-attacks-ashley-madison-hack-victims-reveal-the-traumatic-impact-its-had-on-their-relationships/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/28/what-happened-after-ashley-madison-was-hacked

MORAL REASONING

After much research and thought, I do believe that the hackers were wrong for taking that information from the company. It did not belong to them and they had no business causing all of this destruction just because they probably felt some type of way against the site. That gave them no right. Two wrongs do not make a right. In this case, Ashley Madison encouraging people to cheat for business is wrong. And so is the fact that people are subscribing and cheating on their spouses is wrong. But the hackers then coming and stealing all of that information and causing destruction does not make all of that right.

As far as those who got exposed, there are two perspectives that I see this case from that both have the same conclusion. One is that they signed up to this site willingly on their own accord. By doing that alone they could have signed up for anything. Lets be honest people do not read privacy statements of what they entail. Also you can not ever fully trust that any site online that you sign up for will ever keep your information secure. They are adults who made the decision to cheat on their spouses and put their reputations at risk. So that was a choice they made that is not illegal by no means. The fact that people think the morals behind it are wrong does not mean they deserved the repercussions of the hack. They still could of been good people with bad relationship choices.

Yet with all of that said, It was their choice to sign up to this site and they did naively believe that they had a right to privacy, which to some extent they did, and they broke no laws by doing this. They had the right as human beings site or no site to cheat on their spouses all they wanted to. They were breaking no laws and not disturbing the peace to anyone that was not in their marriage. Those who exposed them had no right to vandalize their lives.

PHILOSOPHER OF CHOICE

For my philosopher I chose Judith Butler.

http://jesscastillo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Butler-Response-Performative-Reflections-on-Love-and-Commitment.pdf

"if commitment is to be alive, that is, if it is to belong to the present,

then the only commitment one can make is to commit oneself again and

again. “I love you and I choose you again and again.” I did not just choose

you once, but I continued to choose you, and what there is of me in my

speech is given to you again and again through this speech act, declara-

238 Response

tion, vow, and promise, one that binds me to you in the present, whatever

present that happens to be. That means as well that one binds oneself to

the process of becoming different as circumstances demand, which means

that in all repetition, there is unknowing. One agrees to commit one’s love

again, unknowingly again."

CONTEXTUALIZE

I felt that even though I believe the exposed people of Ashley Madison were already exposing themselves to be attacked, they did deserve privacy. From what I have read it appears that the hackers did have a problem with the morals of Ashley Madison which is why they did their crime. Just to be clear, the hackers committed a crime.

Therefore I chose Judith Butler to rebut the morals that the hackers probably went through when hacking the Ashley Madison database. The rebuttal is that she believes that commitment is absurd. Which by all pretenses is argumentative. People do not stay married forever in most cases and sometimes those who do are not happy. There are studies that say that people in open relationships are happier than those in monogamous relationships.

To elaborate on that, Judith thinks that commitment is absurd in the sense to think that it means just one thing. It means something different to everyone. Their are people who know that their spouses cheat by speculation and are ok with that. But to see it and make it real and live through that humiliation takes it to another place. Also if we are able to decide what commitment means then what they did was not wrong if they were still committed to their spousal by support. Even if not romantically. If they still were committed to their partner and never harmed them, then why should someone feel they have the right to step in and put their ideals of commitment and why it is wrong into this and ruin lives.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-4366044/People-open-relationships-happier-claims-study.html

Therefore, if they decide to keep their marriage alive by signing up to Ashley Madison that should be a right that they have that regardless of anyone's sentiments should not be exposed. People will not admit that the views of Judith Butler make a lot of sense because everyone thinks their is only one truth in the world and that is not the case. The world is very grey and I feel sorry for the people who killed themselves over the shame this hack caused them.With all of that said this hack ruined lives and of course the people who signed up are the ones who put themselves at risk but it was no ones right to take that choice away from them.