Music

AC/DC soundtracked the Ashley Madison hack

by Jesse Locke

Up until this week, the criminal charges of AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd were the band’s most widely reported connection to illicit activities. That all changed when journalists attending a Toronto press conference on the Ashley Madison hack were handed AC/DC lyric sheets.

Why, you ask? Are you shaking at the knees (with suspense)? It turns out that employees of Avid Life Media, the Canadian company that owns the infidelity-aiding website, logged onto their computers on July 12 and were greeted by a message from the hackers soundtracked by AC/DC’s 1990 song “Thunderstruck.” A lyric about being “caught in the middle of a railroad track” has been highlighted by media outlets, but the following passage also seems to chastise Ashley Madison users and hint at the hackers’ revenge: “Broke all the rules / Played all the fools / Yeah yeah they, they, they blew our minds.”

Sadly, that last line has taken on a new meaning in the wake of two alleged suicides from the 37 million users – 86% male and 6.3% of the Canadian population – whose personal information was leaked. Avid Life Media has offered a $500,000 reward to anyone providing information on the hackers, known as the Impact Team.

If you take stock in John McAfee, founder of the security software/super annoying popup company, he believes the hack was an inside job.