TORONTO—Avid Life Media, the parent company of embattled dating site Ashley Madison, is the subject of an investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Reuters reported Tuesday.
AshleyMadison.com rocketed to prominence before one of the most notorious hacks in the history of the Internet dealt it a devastating blow in the summer of 2015.
With the cheeky tagline of “Life is short. Have an affair,” Ashley Madison bills itself as the world’s leading married dating service for discreet encounters with more than 46 million “anonymous” members in 53 countries.
The data breach, which exposed the personal details of millions who signed up for the site, cost Avid Life Media more than a quarter of its revenue, Chief Executive Rob Segal and President James Millership told Reuters.
"We are profoundly sorry," said Segal, adding that more could perhaps have been spent on security.
The two executives told the news service the company is spending millions to improve security and looking at payment options that offer more privacy.
But it still faces major dilemmas including U.S. and Canadian class action lawsuits and allegations that it used fake profiles, according to Reuters.
Avid said it does not know the focus of its own FTC investigation and it still doesn't know how the attack happened or who was responsible.
Reuters reported it has hired cyber security experts at Deloitte, and expects to reach the first level of Payment Card Industry compliance, an industry standard, by September.
