Match.com has become victim to a malvertising attack, which may put users of the popular online dating website at risk of ransomware.
Security researchers at Malwarebytes discovered the threat, which they said bore all the hallmarks of a previous attack on PlentyOfFish, another online dating website.
The ads on Match.com were found to have malicious code embedded in them, which, if accessed, would allow cybercriminals to gain control of a device.
This would then give them the opportunity to launch numerous attacks. In addition to stealing personal data, another popular technique is to encrypt all data, which is only decrypted when a ransom is paid.
With approximately 27 million people using the website every month, the potential fallout of this attack is significant.
“We take the security of our members very seriously,” a spokesperson for Match.com said yesterday (3rd September).
“Earlier today we took the precautionary measure of temporarily suspending advertising on our UK site whilst we investigated a potential malware issue.
“Our security experts were able to identify and isolate the affected adverts, this does not represent a breach of our site or our users' data.”
The spokesperson added that they have yet to receive any reports that its users have been affected by these malicious adverts.
However, in the interest of security, they advised members to protect themselves by updating their antivirus software.
Match.com describes itself as the “world’s first and largest dating company”, with a global reach that extends into 25 different countries.
News of this comes on the back of the Ashley Madison data breach, which has sent shockwaves across the world.
Up to 37 million members of the infidelity website are thought to have been affected by the attack.
