PremiumAshley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal review – Docuseries exposes secrets and perils of infidelity site
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal review - Netflix’s latest documentary series spotlights the infamous Ashley Madison breach of 2015 and how it affected millions of customers.
Last Updated: 04.51 PM, May 16, 2024
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal story
Netflix’s latest docuseries tracks the phenomenal rise of the controversial dating website Ashley Madison and how it was hacked, exposing the personal data of millions of customers.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal review
Life is short. Have an affair – This is the tagline of Ashley Madison, an online dating site for married people who want to have an affair. Probably the biggest fantasy of a person, suffocating in the mundaneness of marital life.
That’s the idea that Ashley Madison latched on to, sold to people, and raked in millions in profits year after year; until that dream turned into a nightmare for everyone involved.
Netflix’s latest documentary series traces the infamous Ashley Madison breach right from when the site was first conceived during the early 2000s, how it was going slow until Noel Biderman came on board, and the skyrocketing growth as it made inroads into various countries across continents.
But then the bubble had to break sooner than later. Ashley Madison, which boasted a whopping 37 million users, was hacked in 2015, exposing the personal data, sexual fantasies, and even credit card details of its customers. The breach not only exposed the security assurances of the infidelity site but also put people out of their jobs, wrecked marriages, and even forced some people to take the extreme step.
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Former employees, clients, journalists, and cyber experts all chip in with their version of the story as the docuseries slowly builds the case of the infamous Ashley Madison breach. Spread across three episodes, the docuseries also brings us the experiences of clients and what enticed them to log on to the adultery website.
One story that particularly stood out for me was that of the vlogger couple Sam and Nia. That very picture-perfect family was also rocked by the breach and your heart would go out to the naive wife who gave everything for the marriage but was rewarded with betrayal. Sam and Nia’s story is significant even now, especially in the era of social media influencers, and a full-fledged documentary on their life would definitely find takers.
We also get to see the past interview footage of former CEO Noel and his wife, as they strategically marketed their own ‘happy marriage story’ to promote the website. We all know how that story would end.
Directed by Toby Paton, the mini docuseries also chronicles how the hackers, who call themselves the Impact Team, first warned the dating site to take down the service or suffer the consequences. As the breach hit, the repercussions were felt as far as the Australian shores and media houses across the world sat up and followed every update.
As someone, who was also a part of the Indian media that closely followed the developments, I was also intrigued by this docuseries. Not just exposing the secrets, the Netflix docuseries also raises questions about the cybersecurity of the customers’ data. But at the end of the nearly 3-hour docuseries, we are nowhere close to knowing who carried out one of the biggest cyber-attacks. The British docuseries focuses more on the lies and scandals, and any vital information about the hackers is missing.
Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal verdict
From true crime to nature documentaries, Netflix has been adding varied content to its library and Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal is a worthy addition. This docuseries, which puts the spotlight on the perils of the infidelity dating site and raises important questions on cybersecurity, makes for an intriguing watch and is definitely worth your time.