Home / Corporate Crime / Cybercrime and data protection offences / Data protection offences

Legal News

An affair to remember—cyber crime implications of the Ashley Madison hack

Copyright © 2025 LexisNexis

Published on: 02 September 2015

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Table of contents

What offence have the hackers committed by capturing and releasing account details associated with the Ashley Madison site?
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
What are the challenges in identifying hackers?
If found to be located outside of the jurisdiction, could prosecuting authorities of different jurisdictions work together to bring a case against the hacker(s)?
Could individuals who have signed up to the site face criminal prosecutions in any jurisdictions?
Have there been any examples of successful prosecution of hackers?
How is the criminal law developing in this area?

Article summary

Crime analysis: In the wake of the Ashley Madison hacking affair, Matthew Richardson, a barrister at Henderson Chambers, considers the criminal law implications and looks at how computer crime legislation is developing to deal with these types of issues.

Popular documents

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companies

Priority between loss reliefs in loss making companiesWhy does it matter?A company that is a member of a group and has incurred any of the types of losses available for surrender by way of group relief may, without any further rules, have more than one way in which to use the loss. There are a

What is the difference between an appeal and a review?

What is the difference between an appeal and a review?What is an appeal?An appeal in insolvency proceedings is no different to an appeal in normal litigation. An appeal will be allowed only if the appeal court is satisfied that the decision of the lower court was 'wrong' or 'unjust because of a

Can shares in a limited company that have not been paid-up at all be cancelled?

Can shares in a limited company that have not been paid-up at all be cancelled?A limited company having a share capital may not alter that share capital, except in the ways listed in section 617 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006). Shares in a company cannot simply be cancelled without following an

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements

Template for regulatory references given by SMCR firms and disclosure requirements[Insert addressee details]Dear [insert name][It is our understanding that [insert name of prospective employee] [was an employee of yours between the dates of [insert dates as appropriate] OR is a current employee of