Second chances.

One of the hottest series on Netflix (no pun intended) is a documentary called Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies, & Scandal detailing the Toronto-based infidelity website, which exposed the personal information on more than 37 million individuals worldwide about a decade ago.

Ashley Madison’s brand promise is that its members can have an affair without worrying about their personal information being leaked.?

Feeling safe and secure, members did not think twice about providing their real names, credit card information, and detailing their sexual fantasies on the site.?

On July 13, 2015, the website's worst nightmare came true: the site was hacked by an individual or group calling themselves the "Impact Team.”?

At the time of the hack, CEO Noel Biderman was planning to take the company public, so the data breach was tightly kept a secret.?

Impact Team demanded that the company shut down immediately and permanently, or they would expose customers’ information. The executives at Ashley Madison decided to keep the hack a secret from law enforcement, the press, and Ashley Madison members because such news would have destroyed many lives.?

Ashley Madison was given 30 days to give in to Impact Team’s demands, so they tried to take matters into their own hands. The company hired Swedish hackers to find out who was behind the data breach, but they were unsuccessful.

Seven days into the hack, the media found out about the data breach, and the news caused a panic because more than 35 million of its users were about to have their private information made public.

The hackers also disclosed the company used fake profiles and bots to inflate its numbers. These bots were used to lure men so the company could make more money from subscriptions.

Since then, Avid Life Media, Ashley Madison’s parent company, has rebranded itself as Ruby Life and hired new cyber-security experts.?

Avid Life Media knew that if it were going to recover or even survive as a business, it would not be sufficient to do anything less. It needed to become the industry leader in cyber security.

Sam and Nia Rader are two Christian YouTubers whose lives were impacted by the Ashley Madison data breach.

The couple rose to fame after they posted a video lip-syncing to Disney Frozen’s "Love Is An Open Door." When The Impact Team first released the data containing Ashley Madison’s client list and emails, Sam had no choice but to come clean about being a site member. He denied ever having an affair and apologized for being involved with Ashley Madison.

When The Impact Team released more information, including all of Ashley Madison’s emails and secret documents, it became clear that Sam had lied to Nia and millions of their YouTube subscribers. He had been visiting strip clubs and had several affairs, some of which were with the couple’s acquaintances.?

Despite all the secrets Sam had kept from his wife, the couple worked through their issues and is still together.?

Nia has given Sam a second chance, and the public has given Ashley Madison a second chance.?

In retrospect, the data breach was good for Ashley Madison. Millions more people are now aware of its existence, which has led the company to amass over 80 million subscribers.?

I asked one of my clients, who owns a leading public relations firm, how that was even possible. I shared that because of the Exxon and BP oil spills, I go out of my way to buy gas from other brands.?

We did not discuss Ashley Madison, but he told me that as a consumer, I’m the exception to the rule regarding Exxon and BP. Both refineries have adopted the strictest standards in the industry, and the public has given them a second chance.

“It’s so different when you get a second chance to come back out and do your thing - you’re more humble, you appreciate it more, you know what not to do this second time around.”

- Da Brat (American rapper)

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