Hackers today outed millions of cheating spouses using the Ashley Madison infidelity website by publishing all their personal details and sexual fantasies online.

The names, ages, addresses, phone numbers and credit card details of up to 37million users including 1.2million in the UK were revealed in a 9.7 gigabyte file called 'Time's Up!' posted on the dark web.

Bankers, civil servants, UN peacekeepers and even Vatican employees have been outed by hackers from the Impact Team because they are considered 'cheating dirtbags'.

The Ashley Madison website, which is known as the 'Google of cheating', has called the data breach 'an act of criminality' and the FBI is now investigating.

The site promises its members worldwide complete 'anonymity' and has the motto: 'Life is short. Have an affair' but hackers say they have exposed its members because they want it shut down.

Security experts said today the data breach will not only end marriages but could also leave people open to blackmail.

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New scandal: The Ashley Madison website promises its 37 million members worldwide complete 'anonymity' and has the motto: 'Life is short. Have an affair' - but all its users had their details leaked today

Warning: Impact Team say Ashley Madison members should not have anonymity because they are 'cheating dirtbags and deserve no such discretion' as they published the data in full

Set up: A 9.7 gigabyte data file has today been posted to the dark web claiming to have account details and log-ins and even credit card details of people who use the social networking site to have affairs

The dark web files released today shows the profile of every user, including their name, date of birth, home address, phone number, username and email address.

HACKING VICTIMS EXPRESS SHOCK AT THEIR DETAILS BEING RELEASED A married senior servant says she is the victim of a malicious enemy (posed by model) A British civil servant told MailOnline today she was 'heartbroken' after being named by hackers as an Ashley Madison user. The married woman said she must be the victim of a malicious enemy. The woman is among 130 British government workers named by hackers today. She said: 'I'm absolutely heartbroken. I'm married and would never do something like this. It must be malicious. I never knew I had enemies'. Another senior council worker from northern England said his ex-girlfriend broke up with him over an Ashley Madison account but maintains he never set it up. He said: 'I'm pretty certain I haven't ever registered for that site although one ex-girlfriend after we split up did start telling me she was annoyed I was on, I think, this site. I had no idea what she was going on about until now'. One Irish member said he is married but was 'inquisitive' about meeting other women. He said: 'I did sign up but never used the account. 'I'm a bit annoyed to be honest - I set it up with the intention of using it but was unable to access it due to work restrictions. 'Now my details are all over the internet'. A local politician told MailOnline an unhappy resident may have set up an account in his name. He said: 'I'm divorced and single so I'm not sure this site would be for me even if I'd joined, which I haven't. 'If you Googled me you would find all my personal details, including email address, and that's clearly what someone has done. 'It just shows how unsecure the internet is'. Advertisement

The hackers have previously claimed to have all profile pictures including naked shots.

Their sexual fantasies are also listed and also a description of the type of sexual partner they are looking to have an affair with.

A separate file also details credit card transactions.

The majority of the 37million users are married men.

Among the email addresses are ones from the British and US governments and armed forces, major companies including IBM and BAE Systems as well as institutions such as the Catholic church and universities including Harvard and Yale.

There are around 15,000 .mil addresses - the official US Military address - or .gov addresses, which is used by the US government.

The data released today appears to be genuine and exposes the infidelity of millions of people around the world.

But it appears that some profiles may have been set up maliciously.

A British civil servant told MailOnline today she was 'heartbroken' after being named by hackers as an Ashley Madison user.

The married woman said she must be the victim of a malicious enemy.

The woman is among 130 British government workers named by hackers today.

She said: 'I'm absolutely heartbroken. I'm married and would never do something like this. It must be malicious. I never knew I had enemies'.

One Irish member working in local government, named today said he had set up an account.

He told MailOnline is married but was 'inquisitive' about meeting other women.

He said: 'I did sign up but never used the account.

'I'm a bit annoyed to be honest - I set it up with the intention of using it but was unable to access it due to work restrictions.

'Now my details are all over the internet'.

One banker, who is named as working for Bank of America and outed on the site today, describes himself as having a 'sex drive too high to handle'.

Setting out his sexual fantasies and explaining why he is cheating on his wife, he says: 'I need someone who is more sexual. I need someone who is willing to try anything'.

One file on a member named as Rickie from Ontario admitted he was married but says he is looking for sex with a woman who is 'good with her hands' and likes 'kinky fun, erotic movies and dressing up'.

Errata Security CEO Rob Graham, said he had counted more than 36 million accounts in the leak, although he believes that many appeared to be bogus.

WHAT DID THE HACKERS STEAL AND WHAT DATA HAVE THEY REVEALED? Profile: This is a genuine profile of an American user of Ashley Madison, including her sexual preferences, although it has been put in this form by MailOnline for clarity The hacking of Ashley Madison represents one of the biggest data breaches in online history, with the personal and most intimate details of users now published online. Hackers have simply stolen all raw data about users and published them exactly as they appear on the website's database. For example, the profile above purports to be for a woman from Arizona, in her twenties. The leaked file on he reveals her account nickname, full name, date of birth address, zip code, phone numbers, email addresses, ethinicity, weight, height and even longitude and latitude of their home. Users are also asked to set out what they are looking for, what kind of sexual partner they want and their sexual fantasies. These are all numbered between 1 and 60, and an index explaining what these all mean have also been released by hackers. The passwords of the users appear to be the only piece of information that was encrypted. Security experts fear that this information could be abused by criminals willing to blackmail individuals or sell on their details. James Maude, senior security engineer at Avecto said: 'A hidden danger here is the amount of data now out there and the impact this could have on areas such as national security, government policy and law enforcement. 'At first glance, it may look like the Ashley Madison data leak will cause nothing more than embarrassment. But this type of sensitive personal information can be used by criminals to generate serious leverage against an individual, when combined with details released from other attacks. 'It seems like Ashley Madisson was cheating on its clients with a number of bad security and data storage practices. The breach shows employees using 'Password1234' and contains seven years of credit card transaction details. Researchers have verified that some of the credit cards are not only valid but still in daily use. 'Although the password for the accounts were stored in a way which makes wholesale decryption unlikely, it is entirely possible that a targeted attack on an individual account could crack the password. This could lead to the compromise of other accounts such as online banking or emails if a shared password was used.' Advertisement

CEO Noel Biderman, the self-styled 'King of Infidelity' who set up the website with his wife Amanda, believes that a hacker with ties to the site's technical services is the culprit behind the privacy breac

Last month hacking group the 'Impact Team' said the site wrecks marriages and stole their details before threatening to publish everything unless the 'Google of cheating' is shut down.

Today they acted on their threat and in a dark web post entitled 'Time's Up!' they dumped with email addresses, usernames, passwords and credit card transactions of users.

ASHLEY MADISON: HOW DOES THE CHEATING WEBSITE WORK? Ashley Madison is astonishingly easy to use. Free to join, new members are asked to provide a user name and blurred photograph - - the site will pixelate it for you or you can add a ‘disguise’, such as a mask. Users then select what they’re looking for, ranging from ‘cyber affair/ erotic chat’ to ‘anything goes’. It’s open to single and attached users, though those who sign up are predominantly married. The majority are men. Men then pay in ‘credits’. The introductory package is £39 for 100 credits or £179 for an ‘affair guarantee’ membership of 1,000 credits. Five credits buys a message to another member and 30 gets you 30 minutes of live chat. Women don’t have to pay — a sensible incentive, given that 70 per cent of the site’s profiles are male. They can then send private messages, ‘winks’ to notify another user that you have viewed their profile or virtual gifts, normally sexual images, and chat via instant messenger when both members are online. Many then meet for sex. Advertisement

Impact Team say Ashley Madison members should not have anonymity because they are 'cheating dirtbags and deserve no such discretion' and now millions appear to have been exposed.

They asked for Established Men to be taken offline, along with Ashley Madison, all owned by Avid Media.

Hackers did not make the same request of Cougar Life, also owned by Avid, suggesting they are more interested in exposing unfaithful men.

Explaining the hack Impact Team said in a statement: 'Avid Life Media has failed to take down Ashley Madison and Established Men.

'We have explained the fraud, deceit, and stupidity of ALM and their members. Now everyone gets to see their data…. Keep in mind the site is a scam with thousands of fake female profiles.

'See Ashley Madison fake profile lawsuit; 90-95 per cent of actual users are male.

'Chances are your man signed up on the world's biggest affair site, but never had one. He just tried to. If that distinction matters.'

The hackers said the consequences for victims of the breach was not their responsibility.

'Find yourself in here? It was ALM that failed you and lied to you. Prosecute them and claim damages.

'Then move on with your life. Learn your lesson and make amends. Embarrassing now, but you'll get over it,' they wrote.

In a statement last night Canada-based Avid Life Media, the company behind Ashley Madison said it had 'now learned that the individual or individuals responsible for this attack claim to have released more of the stolen data'.

Describing the hack as 'an act of criminality', the company said it was fully cooperating with law enforcement to find the hackers.

'The criminal, or criminals, involved in this act have appointed themselves as the moral judge, juror, and executioner, seeing fit to impose a personal notion of virtue on all of society.

'We will not sit idly by and allow these thieves to force their personal ideology on citizens around the world,' the statement said.

The FBI is now investigating the cyber attack.

Warning: Last month the Impact Team posted this demand as it pledged to out adulterous members cheating on their spouses using the site

Popular: On its website, the company bills itself as 'the most famous name in infidelity and married dating

Ashley Madison's sign-up process does not require verification of an email address to set up an account.

This means addresses might have been used by others, and doesn't prove that person used the site themselves.

One British Ashley Madison user, called Natalie, is one of the 1.2 million in the UK scared her husband will discover her infidelity.

WHO ARE 'MORAL' HACKERS CALLED THE IMPACT TEAM? The so-called Impact Team have billed themselves as 'moral' hackers who want to expose infidelity and corruption. Unlike other high profile hacking groups like Lizard Squad and Anonymous, Impact Team have had much less publicity. The group claims that its aims are not to make money, only to reveal alleged corruption and unmask 'dirtbag cheaters'. In their statement threatening Ashley Madison's owners and members they said: 'We are not opportunistic skids. We are dedicated, focused, skilled, and we're never going away. If you profit off the pain of others, whatever it takes, we will completely own you'. Impact Team appears to have gained a lot of supporters online, with some calling them 'moral crusaders'. Avid Life Media, the firm behind Ashley Madison, believe the group may have an insider and say they are on the 'doorstep' of a culprit. They have also called it a criminal act and will be working with the police to catch them and regain the data. One theory is that the hackers were helped by an insider at Ashley Madison who helped them access members' details. Before today's leak some experts said that their hack was about selling the data rather than a moral crusade, but today it appears that the theft was not about the money and a genuine threat. Advertisement

She says that she started using the site during a 'rocky patch' in her marriage, but has not logged since 2011.

She told The Sun last month: 'Things with my husband improved and I haven't logged in to the website in years. Now I feel sick to my stomach that my past could come back to haunt me'.

Avid Life Media believe a company insider may have helped hackers grab the information.

CEO Noel Biderman, the self-styled 'King of Infidelity' who set up the website with his wife Amanda, believes that a hacker with ties to the site's technical services is the culprit behind the privacy breach.

'I've got their profile right in front of me, all their work credentials. It was definitely a person here that was not an employee but certainly had touched our technical services,' Biderman told Krebs On Security.

Last month, experts warned the stolen data could be sold on to criminal gangs or used to blackmail members.

One hacking insider, named only as Vinnie, told Sky News the valuable data will likely be sold on the 'Dark Web' to 'the highest bidder'.

The cyber criminals had previously only published a small amount of the information online.

The hackers have claimed that even cheaters who have paid Ashley Madison to delete their information from its files are at risk - making the site millions, but claim these details were never fully deleted.

The website charges members £15 for what it says is a 'full delete' of information that should leave no footprint. However, the hackers claim this service was a 'complete lie'.

'Users almost always pay with credit card; their purchase details are not removed as promised, and include real name and address, which is of course the most important information the users want removed,' they said.

The security breach is bad news for Ashley Madison, which has been battling to gain respectability after it was dubbed the 'Google of cheating'.

It even hoped to float on the London Stock Exchange later this year.

The Canadian company said in April it thought British investors would be more likely to buy into the business because Europeans have a more 'laissez-faire' attitude to cheating.

However, even open-minded Europeans found Ashley Madison' attempts to make money from adultery a step too far.

Many of the brokers it would have relied on to sell shares in Britain refused to deal with the company, amid concerns that it leads to family breakdowns.

STATEMENT FROM COMPANY BEHIND CHEATING SITE ASHLEY MADISON Noel Biderman, CEO of Avid Life Media with his wife Amanda (pictured together) 'Last month we were made aware of an attack to our systems. We immediately launched a full investigation utilizing independent forensic experts and other security professionals to assist with determining the origin, nature, and scope of this attack. 'Our investigation is still ongoing and we are simultaneously cooperating fully with law enforcement investigations, including by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Police Services and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. 'We have now learned that the individual or individuals responsible for this attack claim to have released more of the stolen data. 'We are actively monitoring and investigating this situation to determine the validity of any information posted online and will continue to devote significant resources to this effort. 'Furthermore, we will continue to put forth substantial efforts into removing any information unlawfully released to the public, as well as continuing to operate our business. 'This event is not an act of hacktivism, it is an act of criminality. It is an illegal action against the individual members of AshleyMadison.com, as well as any freethinking people who choose to engage in fully lawful online activities. 'The criminal, or criminals, involved in this act have appointed themselves as the moral judge, juror, and executioner, seeing fit to impose a personal notion of virtue on all of society. We will not sit idly by and allow these thieves to force their personal ideology on citizens around the world. We are continuing to fully cooperate with law enforcement to seek to hold the guilty parties accountable to the strictest measures of the law. 'Every week sees new hacks disclosed by companies large and small, and though this may now be a new societal reality, it should not lessen our outrage. 'These are illegitimate acts that have real consequences for innocent citizens who are simply going about their daily lives. 'Regardless, if it is your private pictures or your personal thoughts that have slipped into public distribution, no one has the right to pilfer and reveal that information to audiences in search of the lurid, the titillating, and the embarrassing. 'We know that there are people out there who know one or more of these individuals, and we invite them to come forward. 'While we are confident that the authorities will identify and prosecute each of them to the fullest extent of the law, we also know there are individuals out there who can help to make this happen faster. 'Anyone with information that can lead to the identification, arrest and conviction of these criminals, can contact information@avidlifemedia.com' Advertisement

Revealed: Ashley Madison founder has made $1bn from the infidelity of others and admits: 'I'd cheat on my wife so fast'

He is the founder of the world's largest cheating network serving 37million people in 50 countries.

Noel Biderman says he has made $1billion from those desperate to have affairs and admits he would cheat on his own wife if his marriage was sexless.

In fact Biderman says his site Ashley Madison has the power to save marriages rather than destroy them.

Admission: Noel Biderman, CEO of Avid Life Media, who owns the dating web site, admits he would cheat on his wife if heir sex life dried up

He boasts that 'life is short, have an affair' and the multi-millionaire father-of-two admits being happily married for more than 10 years would not necessarily keep him monogamous.

He formed Ashley Madison with his wife Amanda, but should their sex life dry up he would try to find a new partner.

In fact Biderman believes his website's aim - helping people have affairs - saves marriages.

Speaking to the Evening Standard about his own marriage last year, he said: 'We're incredibly communicative about our sexual needs.

'But if I woke up beside my wife and it was the 200th day we hadn't been intimate with one another and it looked like nothing would change, I would cheat so fast.

'I would cheat long before I would get a divorce. If you have children that you love and a home that you built together and a future that you planned — why would you give that up just for sex?'

Mr Biderman came up with the idea for the extra-marital dating site in the 1990s, after a career as a sports attorney apparently made him realise how much time and money his clients spent on mistresses while they were away on tour.

I would cheat long before I would get a divorce. If you have children that you love and a home that you built together and a future that you planned — why would you give that up just for sex? Ashley Madison founder Noel Biderman

The site has made him a self-made multi-millionaire and he claims it is worth at least £669million ($1 billion).

Despite its risqué nature, Mr Biderman's wife doesn't appear to mind because she agrees it is a 'sound business idea'.

The pair insist the social network is just a tool and no one can force anyone to betray a spouse and even believe the dating website can actually help save marriages.

M Biderman said previously: 'The reason people have affairs is that they want to stay married.

'What I get is a lot of people who come back to me and say: 'Listen, this has made me a better partner.'

'They were angry and taking things out on their family. The sexual frustration they were feeling, they start having the affair and all of a sudden, that stress is removed. It's very cathartic for those people.

'If you come home and you've had an affair earlier in the day, it might be easier not to be frustrated with your partner. The conversation could take a different directional tone and that can lead to intimacy.