For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past week, the Canada-based online dating service Ashley Madison has been hacked and the personal information of more than 32 million users has been leaked onto the internet for all the world to see. This has caused some complications, to say the least, in most of those men and women’s lives, in large part due to the fact that Ashely Madison is catered towards married or committed individuals trying to have an affair. Hell, their slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair.” But besides showing the world that these 32 million users are likely cheaters, the hackers also revealed many of these peoples’ financial information, personal information, as well as “outed” – see the list– those who actually weren’t using the site to cheat.

Everyone is so focused on the direct implications of the Ashely Madison leak to Ashley Madison users, however, that the indirect consequences of one of the most epic hacks of our time are largely overshadowed or ignored. One unforeseen impact this hack had is that it may have inadvertently destroyed other current online dating sites, most of which are completely legitimate and necessary for many people. You might be thinking, “Hey, guy, how does a hack and information dump of one dating site affect all others? Aren’t you over-exaggerating a little bit?” Well, it’s possible. It’s known, though, that the Ashely Madison hack can spell disaster for other online dating companies, and it’s on those companies to pull themselves out of this quagmire and retain or re-gain their once-loyal demographic. You see, the issues that this illegal information dump has called into question are trust and security over the internet.

Even the most innocent dating sites often require some sensitive information to be given before a user can find the man or woman of his or her dreams, including some basic credit card information and a valid email address. So even if one of the most widely-used and legitimate dating sites around right now, OKCupid, were hacked and the data of all its users dumped into the eternal meme generator and pornography collection we call the Internet, some of this information could be released and allow other individuals to use it for blackmail, coercion, or identity theft. Most innocent dating sites often encourage you to answer personal questions in order to find you better matches. Yes, some of these questions are sexual in nature, but hey, for some reason people enjoy sex when they are dating someone and there is mutual attraction. So, even a hack and data dump of OKCupid could end up telling all your neighbors that you told the site you enjoy anal sex, dated a stripper, and are comfortable with S&M. These sites assure us we can trust them, and until now they haven’t steered us wrong.

The problem is that we have still barely tapped into the potential of computers, and brilliant computer wizards are able to manipulate these machines of code and connectivity to better society. Often, similar computer wizards use their talents to seek revenge and cause chaos. Every day, hackers become more and more sophisticated as the underground culture learns and teaches others more about getting around even top-notch government internet security. This is where the problem exists. For every new form of internet security, there is a hacker who could get passed it one-handed. Institutions that handle your financial information as a business, like big banks, have so much protection that you need not fear for the safety of your bank accounts. Small online dating sites, however, have very little or even no security to keep your information private from even the most half-assed hacker in the nearest middle school computer lab.

The biggest advantages to online dating are sheer numbers of potential matches and assured anonymity to the desired degree of each user. Some people are very open about their lives and don’t care what people know, just as long as it’s not enough information to steal their identities. Others, however, rely on anonymity and can be ruined if even their use of some sites were exposed. Picture the thousands of in-the-closet gay, bisexual, and bicurious men who use Grindr as a way to harmlessly figure themselves out. Now picture how many of those men could be destroyed by simply listing their name under “Grindr users.” Even for sites that aren’t nearly as taboo, like OKCupid and its cousins, the possibility of another hack in the online dating world could turn thousands of users away from the opportunity, (How the hack reviled what makes the perfect online dating profile) and away from these companies. Soon, it will be up to the companies themselves to gain our trust back and prove that scenario will never happen to them. Still, could we ever know for sure?

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