Almost 100 state and local government emails among Ashley Madison hack

by Matt Caulder, NC Capitol Connection, August 21, 2015.

This story has been updated to reflect the most up-to-date information.

Almost 100 North Carolina state and local government email addresses have been uncovered so far among the more than 10,000 government and military email addresses released as part of the hack of the online affair site, Ashley Madison.

The emails track back to state, county and local entities as well as various school districts across the state.

The hacker group, The Impact Team, reportedly took the data in July, threatening release if the website did not shut down.

The hackers made good on their promise, releasing the data this week anonymously on the Deepnet, the underside of the Internet not readily accessible to most users.

NC Capitol Connection went into the Deepnet and pulled out the list for analyzing.

Among the more than 35 million email addresses on the list are email addresses leading back to the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the state Department of Transportation (NCDOT), the state Department of Corrections (DOC), the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the state Department of Cultural Resources (NCDCR) and the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (DJJDP).

The governments of Durham, Guilford, Iredell, Moore, Nash, Orange, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Randolph, Robeson and Wake counties as well as the municipalities of Charlotte, Eden, Greensboro, Greenville, Henderson, Hickory, High Point and Salisbury are also represented on this list, so far.

An ongoing search of North Carolina counties is still being conducted and more information will be added to the list as it becomes available.

Some areas had multiple email addresses on the list, including two at DHHS, four in DOC, seven within NCDOT, two in DENR, two in Moore and Wake counties, nine in Charlotte, four in Greensboro and two in Greenville and Salisbury.

Most government entities prohibit the use of government resources for personal use.

Others email addresses could be used for sign up

It is possible for someone to use the email address of a government official to sign up for the site, as evidenced by the address barack.obama@whitehouse.gov being present on the list.

Therefore the presence of a specific address on the list does not mean that person necessarily had an affair or attempted to.

NC Capitol Connection is still working to verify the email addresses and analyze the list further.

This story will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

http://nccapitolconnection.com/2015/08/21/local-and-state-governments-among-ashley-madison-hack/