Ashley Madison faces FTC fembots

Ashley Madison, the adultery website that was hacked last year, is under investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission for its use of bots to chat with paying male customers, the company said. 去年被黑客攻陷的成人交友网站阿什利•曼迪讯目前正面临美国联邦贸易委员会的调查。据该公司透露，调查主要针对公司使用机器人对男性会员提供收费服务的行为。

The dating website was attacked by cybercriminals last summer, exposing the identities of its would-be adulterer subscribers and internal documents that appeared to show that it used so-called fembots so that men would believe they were engaging with real women willing to have an affair. 去年夏天，该交友网站遭到网络罪犯攻击，导致其潜在的成人会员身份信息和公司内部资料被曝光。这些资料显示该公司雇佣所谓的恋爱机器人与男性会员聊天，让他们以为对方是真实的正在寻求婚外情的女性。

Avid Life Media，which owns Ashley Madison and other dating sites including Cougar Life and Established Men, has appointed a new chief executive, Rob Segal, to attempt a fresh start at the company. 为了改过自新从头来过，阿什利•曼迪讯的母公司阿威德生活传媒公司任命洛伯•赛格尔为其新的执行总监。该公司旗下还拥有其他一些交友网站，包括"熟女生活"网站和"成功男士"网站。

Mr Segal, the former chief executive of World Gaming, told Reuters that the FTC had been investigating its use of bots, and a spokesperson confirmed the company had been “proactively sharing information with regulatory authorities” since August 2015. 赛格尔此前曾出任过"世界游戏"公司的行政总监一职，他告诉路透社记者: 联邦贸易委员会正在调查机器人冒充女性聊天事件。同时该公司的一位发言人确认他们从2015年8月开始就应要求与法规机构共享信息。

The FTC did not respond to requests for comment.

Mr Segal said bots, thought to have been deployed because there were far more men than women on the site, were no longer used. 联邦贸易委员会尚未发表任何意见。赛格尔说: 使用恋爱机器人的原因是网站上女性供不应求。公司将停止使用恋爱机器人。

James Millership, newly appointed as president at Ashley Madison after working under Mr Segal at WorldGaming, added: “My understanding is that bots are widespread in the industry, but they are no longer being used, and will not be used, at Avid Life Media and Ashley Madison.” 阿什利•曼迪讯的新任董事长詹姆斯•米勒夏普曾经也供职于"世界游戏"公司，当时是赛格尔的手下。他对记者补充说: 我的看法是，虽然在业内使用机器人的现象普遍存在，但是阿威德生活传媒及阿什利•曼迪讯从现在开始将停止使用恋爱机器人。

Ashley Madison, which used to advertise itself with the tagline “Life is short. Have an affair” is trying to reposition itself as the dating website for the “open-minded” and people with an“adventurous spirit”, rather than strictly those looking for extramarital affairs. 阿什利•曼迪讯以往宣扬"花开堪折直须折，莫待无花空折枝" 的口号，试图重新自我定位成为思想前卫和具有冒险精神的人们提供机会的交友网站，以此掩盖其招徕那些寻找婚外恋的客户的事实。

It is looking at acquisitions, partnerships and a total rebranding, Mr Millership said. 米勒夏普说，他们通过收购其他公司，建立合作伙伴关系，以及品牌翻新等方式寻求发展。

The company's chief executive, Noel Biderman, stepped down “by mutual agreement” in August last year after details of up to 37m members were posted online by a hacker group calling itself The Impact Team. 去年8月，该网站被自称"振聋发聩"的黑客组织攻击，并在网上曝光了大约3700万名会员的详细信息后，公司执行长官诺伊尔•拜德曼随即协议离职。

The fallout included at least one lawsuit and an investigation by the police in Toronto, where the company is based, into possible suicides connected to the breach. 黑客攻击事件发生后，随之而来的是至少一起诉讼案件和公司所在的多伦多当地警方针对可能由信息泄露引发的几起自杀事件展开的调查。

The trove of data dumped online also made many question its business model after tech site Gizmodo concluded it was likely that only about 12,000 of the 37m members were women. 科技网站Gizmodo对公布于网络的这些无人认领的信息得出结论: 这3700万人中大约只有12000名女性。此后很多人开始质疑该网站的商业模式。

Mr Segal said Avid Life Media had been silenced by the cyber attack. “The company is truly sorry for how people's lives and relationships may have been affected by the criminal theft of personal information,” he said. 赛格尔说，阿威德生活传媒一度对网络攻击事件保持沉默。他说"由于盗取个人隐私的犯罪行为对人们的生活和家庭造成的危害，公司深表歉意"

Avid Life Media has now invested more in cyber defences including partnering Deloitte's cyber security team and introducing new “secure and discreet” payment options, Mr Segal said. 赛格尔说， 阿威德生活传媒公司在网络安防方面投下重金，包括与Deloitte网络安防公司合作，引进新型安全谨慎的支付方案以杜绝网络安全隐患。