State, Federal Government Employees In Colorado On Ashley Madison
DENVER (CBS4)- Both state and federal government employees in Colorado were using a popular website designed to help people cheat on their spouses. Hackers released the names and other information of clients who used the Ashley Madison website.
"When they signed up and why, in my opinion, is their business. It only crosses into the public's business when it's tax payer dollars," said Metro State Computer Science Professor Steve Beaty.
Beaty was curious about who was on the website's database so he did some checking and found 31 different sectors of employees from the state, city and schools on the site, including the Department of Homeland Security.
He said it only took him a few minutes to pinpoint the exact names of those who signed up on Ashley Madison. He even knows when their credit cards were used on the site.
"I think there are valid concerns about ruining relationships and people taking their own lives and so forth because this data is so detailed," said Beaty.
Beaty won't release the exact names but said the number one group he found is from generic state emails ending in state.co.us. The second largest group is Jefferson County School District employees.
The information comes days after hackers exposed cheating spouses around the world. Around 15,000 email addresses appear to trace back to U.S. Government accounts.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter confirmed Thursday that the Pentagon is looking into some of the people on the list who used military addresses.
"Conduct is very important and we expect good conduct on the part of our people," said Carter.
Beaty said employers also had a hand in this, "Why is the state allowing people to access these sites?"
The governor's office said of the 10 state employees found on the Ashley Madison site, only five are active employees. They said the Ashley Madison site is blocked from the state's domain.
Jefferson County Schools is looking into whether any policies were violated and will take the appropriate steps.
Additional Information:
Read the full list of email addresses.
