The Ashley Madison hack - YDS / YÖKDİL için okuma parçaları ve önemli kelime çalışmaları
An AFFAIR to remember
The THEFT of data from a website that facilitates INFIDELITY is a wake-up call
The slogan of Ashley Madison, a website that arranges extramarital liaisons, is “Life is short. Have an affair.” Its home page shows a woman holding a finger TO her lips. So much for promising to keep secrets. Last month a group of hackers called Impact Team stole the site’s user database and TRANSACTION history GOING BACK TO 2007, and this week they RELEASED it online: more than 30m users’ names, addresses and personal details, ALONG WITH GPS co-ordinates and sexual preferences. This TROVE of data is FIDDLY to download and search, but already users of the site are being outed, as journalists and activists comb through the records looking for celebrities, business leaders and politicians. A DELUGE of REVELATIONS seems likely in the coming days, as websites pop up that allow easy searching.
The hackers’ MOTIVES are unclear. In their statements they DENOUNCE the “FRAUD, DECEIT and stupidity” of both Ashley Madison’s parent company, Avid Life Media, and the site’s users. Their complaint against Avid Life is SUPPOSEDLY that the site is a SCAM, because the vast majority of its users are men, who have to buy credits to access its services. But Impact Team’s supposed sympathy for these dupes is hard to square with the hackers’ decision to release all the data, and their moralising encouragement to the people thus exposed: “learn your lesson and make AMENDS”. It seems most likely that Impact Team, like other hacker groups before it, is simply doing this for fun.
Some think Ashley Madison’s users have got what they DESERVE. But this data BREACH could have FAR more public and visible consequences than previous HEISTS, such as the theft of customer data from RETAILERS, tax records from America’s Internal Revenue Service, or even security-clearance data from the Office of Personnel Management. Marriages will be destroyed, REPUTATIONS DEMOLISHED and HYPOCRISIES revealed. People may lose their jobs. Celebrity magazines and gossip columnists will have a field day. There will be much discussion of modern ATTITUDES TO marriage and fidelity. But perhaps the greatest significance of this episode is that it illustrates, more vividly than ever before, the WOEFUL state of internet security.
It WOULD be wrong to BLAME technology FOR human failings, but BY removing friction from existing activities—order a cab with Uber, buy a book from Amazon, SUMMON a song via Spotify, find a date on Tinder—it can SUBTLY STEER people’s behaviour. Ashley Madison’s sales pitch, emblazoned on huge billboards, was that the anonymity of the web could make having an affair easy and risk-free. Its website (“Over 38,920,000 anonymous members!”) offers a three-month money-back guarantee and is FESTOONED WITH logos and icons emphasising trustworthiness, security and DISCRETION. Such promises were evidently irresistible to the site’s millions of REGISTERED users—and to the hackers who have revealed just how HOLLOW these claims really were. No doubt some people signed up ON A WHIM, while going through a rough time in a relationship, or while drunk. In the past, the mere CONTEMPLATION of infidelity left no physical TRACES. But now millions of people’s thoughts and DEEDS are open to public SCRUTINY.
Put not your trust in websites
The truth is that the internet is bad AT keeping secrets. The theft of personal information from large companies and government agencies has become SO routine THAT most such breaches are quickly forgotten. For most people, it is merely an occasional INCONVENIENCE. If your credit-card number is stolen, you can get another one; if your password is revealed, you can change it. Identity theft and fraud are more troublesome. But every time another data breach is greeted with no more than a collective shrug, companies’ decision not to DEVOTE more attention TO data security is VINDICATED. The Ashley Madison breach is different, because it threatens to destroy families and end careers. Avid Life’s security seems to have been NO worse than that of many other companies, BUT its database contains information FAR more sensitive than mere financial details. IF its theft proves to be the wake-up call that encourages companies to start taking security more seriously, THEN at least some good will have come from this sorry affair.
AFFAIR (N)
- EVENTS a situation or set of related events, especially bad ones
bilhassa kötü olay, hadise
The government's handling of the affair has been widely criticized.
- RELATIONSHIP a sexual relationship between two people when one or both of them is married to someone else
yasak cinsel ilişki (evli olmayan iki kişi arasında)
He's been having an affair with a woman at work.
THEFT (N)
the action or crime of stealing something
hırsızlık
car theft / identity theft
INFIDELITY (N)
when someone who is married or in a relationship has sex with someone who is not their wife, husband, or regular partner
vefasızlık, sadakatsizlik, ihanet
TRANSACTION (N)
when someone buys or sells something, or when money is exchanged
iş, işlem, muamele
a business/financial transaction
TROVE (N)
discovery, find
hazine, bulgu, keşif
FIDDLY (ADJ)
difficult to do because the parts involved are small
dikkat isteyen/gerektiren, incelik gerektiren
Repairing a watch is very fiddly.
DELUGE (N)
- LARGE AMOUNT a very large amount of something that suddenly arrives
tufan
They have received a deluge of complaints.
- RAIN a sudden, large amount of rain, or a flood
yağmur veya sel baskını, afet, tufan
REVELATION (N)
a piece of information that is discovered although it was intended to be kept secret
ifşaat, açılama, açığa vurma
He resigned following revelations about his private life.
MOTIVE (N)
a reason for doing something
neden, sebep, dürtü
The police don't yet know the motive for the killing.
DENOUNCE (V)
to publicly criticize someone or something, or to publicly accuse someone of something
alenen kınamak, suçlamak
They've been denounced as terrorists.
FRAUD (N)
- CRIME when someone does something illegal in order to get money
dolandırıcılık, düzenbazlık, sahtekârlık
credit card fraud
- PERSON someone who deceives people by pretending to be someone or something that they are not
sahtekâr, hilebaz, düzenbaz, dolandırıcı
DECEIT (N)
when someone tries to make someone believe something that is not true
aldatma, düzen, hile, oyun
deceitful (ADJ)
hilekar
A deceitful behaviour
SUPPOSEDLY (ADV)
Güya!
The building is supposedly in good condition.
SUPPOSED (ADJ)
used to show that you do not believe that someone or something really is what many people consider them to be
sözde, iddia edilen, ileri sürülen, kabul edilen
a supposed genius
SCAM (N)
an illegal plan for making money
şike
DESERVE (V)
If you deserve something good or bad, it should happen to you because of the way you have behaved.
haketmek, layık olmak
The school deserves praise for the way it has raised standards.
[+ to do sth] He deserves to be locked up for life.
**DESERVEDLY (ADV) **
hakketmiş olarak
BREACH (N)
- LAW/AGREEMENT when someone breaks a rule, agreement, or law
ihlal, bozma, çiğneme, uymama
a policy that is in breach of international law
He was sued for breach of contract.
- DISAGREEMENT a serious disagreement between two groups, countries, etc
kopukluk uyuşmazlık, anlaşmazlık
HEIST (N) soygun
a crime in which valuable things are taken illegally and often violently from a place or person:
a $2 million jewellery heist
RETAILER (N)
someone who sells products to the public
perakende satıcı
REPUTATION (N)
the opinion that people have about someone or something based on their behaviour or character in the past
ün, şöhret, nam
Both hotels have a good reputation.
He has a reputation for efficiency.
DEMOLISH (V)
- DESTROY to destroy something such as a building
yıkmak, yerle bir etmek
The factory is dangerous, and will have to be demolished.
- PROVE WRONG to show that an idea or argument is wrong
bir fikri çürütmek, yanlış olduğunu göstermek
He completely demolished my argument.
HYPOCRISY (N)
when someone pretends to believe something that they do not really believe or that is the opposite of what they do or say at another time
iki yüzlülük, riyakârlık, mürailik
WOEFUL (ADJ)
very bad and showing no skill
keder verici, çok üzüntülü, çok üzücü, çok acıklı
a woeful attempt/performance
SUMMON (V)
to officially order someone to come to a place
çağırmak, resmî olarak davet etmek, celp etmek
He was summoned to a meeting.
SUBTLY (ADV)
farkedilmesi kolay olmayan bir şekilde, sinsilikle
New material is not only that extra bit tougher but it's also subtly more progressive.
STEER (V)
to influence the way a situation develops
yönlendirmek, yön vermek; gelişmeyi etkilemek
I managed to steer the conversation away from my exam results.
FESTOON (V)
to cover something with objects, especially decorations
süslemek, çiçek ve süslerle bezemek
[often passive] The balcony was festooned with flags and ribbons.
DISCRETION (N)
CARE when someone is careful not to cause embarrassment or attract too much attention, especially by keeping something secret
ölçülü davranma, itidal gösterme, dikkat, ihtiyat
You can rely on my discretion.
HOLLOW (ADJ)
without meaning or real feeling
boş, anlamsız, yararsız, beyhude
a hollow victory
a hollow laugh
ON A WHIM (idiom)
when you suddenly want to do something without having a reason
geçici heves
We booked the holiday on a whim.
CONTEMPLATION (N) düşünme
CONTEMPLATE (V)
to think about something for a long time or in a serious way
üzerinde kafa yormak, düşünmek, tasarlamak
[+ doing sth] I'm contemplating changing my name.
He even contemplated suicide.
TRACE (N)
proof that someone or something was in a place
iz, işaret, belirti, kalıntı, emare, eser
There was no trace of her anywhere.
Ships have disappeared without trace (= completely).
DEEDS (N)
something that you do
iş, eylem, fiil
good deeds
I judge a person by their deeds, not their words.
SCRUTINY (N)
when you examine something carefully
inceleme, araştırma, tetkik
Every aspect of her life came under public scrutiny.
INCONVENIENCE (N)
when something is inconvenient, or something that is inconvenient
zahmet, rahatsızlık, sıkıntı, güçlük
The Director apologized for any inconvenience caused.
Having to wait for ten minutes was a minor inconvenience.
VINDICATE (V)
to prove that what someone said or did was right after people generally thought it was wrong
haklı çıkarmak, doğruluğunu kanıtlamak