Ottawa, the city fun forgot, tops on infidelity website

By Leah Schnurr
OTTAWA, July 21 (Reuters) - Canada's prim capital is
suddenly focused more on the state of people's affairs than the
affairs of the state.
One in five Ottawa residents allegedly subscribed to
adulterers' website Ashley Madison, making one of the world's
coldest capitals among the hottest for extra-marital hookups -
and the most vulnerable to a breach of privacy after hackers
targeted the site.
Hackers threatened to leak details including the credit card
information, nude photos, sexual fantasies and real names of as
many as 37 million customers worldwide of Ashley Madison, which
uses the slogan: "Life is short. Have an affair." ID:nL3N1003IE
The website's Canadian parent, Avid Life Media, said it had
since secured the site and was working with law enforcement
agencies to trace those behind the attack.
"Everybody says Ottawa is a sleepy town and here we are with
200,000 people running around on each other," said municipal
employee Jon Weaks, 27, as he took a break at an outdoor cafe
near the nation's Parliament.
"I think a lot of people will be questioned tonight at
dinner," added colleague Ali Cross, 28.
Some 189,810 Ashley Madison users were registered in Ottawa,
a city with a population of about 883,000, making the capital
No. 1 for philanderers in Canada and potentially the highest
globally per capita, according to previously published figures
from the Toronto-based company.
The one bright spot for millions of Ashley Madison's nervous
clients is that the hack appears to be an inside job, according
to police and intelligence sources. Avid Life has also said it
is convinced the hackers were formerly connected to the company.
That means, for now at least, the perpetrators are driven by
ideological and not commercial motives.
The hackers, who referred to customers as "cheating dirtbags
who deserve no discretion," appear uninterested in blackmailing
individual clients, unlike an organized crime outfit.
"If it had been organized, they wouldn't have advertised
it," said a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of
anonymity. "But there's going to be a lot of people with lots of
explaining to do."
The hotbed of infidelity was also the seat of power: The top
postal code for new members matched that of Parliament Hill,
according to Avid Live chief executive Noel Biderman in a
newspaper report published earlier this year.
Biderman said capital cities around the world typically top
subscription rates, a phenomenon he chalks up to "power, fame
and opportunity," along with the risk-taking personalities that
find themselves in political cities.
The Ottawa mayor's office and city council either declined
to comment or did not return emails.
The hackers want Avid Life to shut down the website, as well
as a second one it runs, EstablishedMen.com which is widely
described as a "sugar daddy site," but has no issues with
CougarLife.com, a site for older women looking for hookups.
"In our buttoned-down city, it may not be acceptable to
openly explore outside of a committed relationship," said Ottawa
marriage counselor Nataxja Cini.
In a city full of professionals with demanding careers, many
in government, Cini said marriage may come under more strain
than usual. But with a stable family life still a badge of
success, an Ashley Madison subscription may be preferable to
divorce, she said.
To be sure, the subscription data may not be that reliable.
A former employee sued Avid Life, saying she had developed
debilitating wrist pain, insomnia and anxiety while writing
1,000 fake profiles for a Brazilian version of Ashley Madison,
according to court records. The case was dismissed earlier this
year.
Still, one Ottawa resident, who declined to give her last
name, said it is unsurprising the small government town is home
to so many Ashley Madison clients.
"In a blue collar city, they're not going to use a website,
they're going to do it at a bar," said Kary, 38. In Ottawa "you
can't run the risk of someone seeing you at a bar doing that."
The town is also not famed for its rollicking social scene.
"Why do you think everyone goes to Montreal to have a good
time?" she added. "Ottawa is the city fun forgot."