Avid Life Media CEO Noel Biderman has announced that he will step down as CEO. Avid Life Media is perhaps best known as the owner of the website Ashley Madison, a website for cheaters to find people to have affairs with.

The website was recently hacked, which resulted in the release of personal information for around 37 million users, along with sensitive information about the website contained in emails from employees of Avid Life Media.

"This change is in the best interest of the company and allows us to continue to provide support to our members and dedicated employees. We are steadfast in our commitment to our customer base," said the company in a statement on Aug. 28 regarding Biderman stepping down. "We are actively adjusting to the attack on our business and members' privacy by criminals. We will continue to provide access to our unique platforms for our worldwide members."

Some suggest that the hacking could lead to the website having to shut down, but even if it doesn't close, its reputation has likely suffered irreparable harm. Two law firms have launched class-action lawsuits against the website, both stating that the website failed to protect its users' information.

The leak also revealed some interesting information about the site. For example, of the 37 million users, only around 12,000 of them were active women. There were millions of fake profiles.

Of course, the Ashley Madison hack itself has been highly controversial. Some suggest that despite the fact that many lives were affected because of the hack, the people on the site got what they deserved. These ideas continue to circulate, despite reports of follow-up scams and even suicides.

It was revealed that Biderman himself had affairs through the site, despite having said that he didn't. This was revealed back in 2012 when some of the emails were leaked. In fact, it was even revealed that Biderman paid for escorts.

Via: TechCrunch