AshleyMadison; cyber liability; data breach; hacking; personally identifiable information; PII; privacy

Folks of a certain age, and fans of “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” Awesome Mix vol. 1, have a hard time forgetting that late ‘70s song by Rupert Holmes, “Escape” (“If you like piña coladas, getting caught in the rain….”). But for millions of subscribers to infidelity website AshleyMadison, there’s no easy escape from hackers’ public disclosure of subscribers’ personal information. In the ensuing schadenfreude-field-day, and amidst early reports of extortion attempts and even suicides, there’s an important lesson to remember. Whether or not a company’s business model is broken vows, broken promises in a privacy policy can have severe repercussions.