The owners of the Ashley Madison cheating-dating website have agreed to pay $11.2 million to settle two dozen data breach lawsuits as a result of a 2015 incident involving as many as 37 million members’ personal identifying information being exposed online. The deal (PDF) earmarks up to one-third, or about $3.7 million, for attorneys’ fees and costs. An additional $500,000 has been set aside to administer the remaining $7 million earmarked for Ashley Madison members.
The breach and the lawsuits highlight the site’s poor security and deceptive business practices, which have also resulted in a $1.6 million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and several states. A Missouri federal judge must sign off on the latest deal, which was submitted in federal court Friday.
