Did city employees use website for cheaters?
Philadelphia's Office of Information Technology is investigating whether city employees used the city's email system and computers to access a website that promotes extramarital affairs.
Philadelphia's Office of Information Technology is investigating whether city employees used the city's email system and computers to access a website that promotes extramarital affairs.
The website, Ashley Madison, was targeted by anonymous hackers, who posted a large data set Wednesday that they say exposes the website's millions of registered users. The website, whose slogan is "Life is short. Have an affair," is aimed at married people looking to cheat on their spouses.
The full data dump is difficult to download and navigate. But a list of the domain names registered with Ashley Madison has surfaced on various websites.
Though unconfirmed, the list shows nine phila.gov and 10 pa.gov domains, which are the email addresses used by city and state employees.
"OIT people are looking into this matter," city spokesman Mark McDonald said Wednesday. "There are rules in city government and email policy - use of equipment policy says you're not supposed to be using city services for things like dating websites."
When city employees turn on their computer, a message pops up reminding users that city computers are "only for official business," McDonald said.
The city has yet to confirm which employees, if any, had been logging on to the website on city time or through city computers, McDonald said.
"If and when we get to actual individuals ... the appropriate personnel process would occur," McDonald said. He added that if someone violated city policy, they could face disciplinary action.
The state Attorney General's Office is "aware" of the 10 state email addresses listed as alleged users of Ashley Madison, said Sadie Martin, a spokeswoman for the office. However, she declined to comment on whether the office is looking into the issue.
If it's proven that city and state employees were accessing the website through government computers, they wouldn't be alone. The data released by the hackers showed at least 15,000 addresses tied to domains registered with state, federal, and military entities.