"Life is short. Have an affair."

So reads the motto posted on the homepage of Ashley Madison, a website that offers services for uncommitted people in committed relationships...in other words, they sell infidelity.

The online company made its name by providing the means for millions of users to cheat on their partners, while vowing to keep their information confidential, was slammed with a massive information breach carried out by hackers in July and discovered in mid-August. Consequently, the hack has ignited a national debate about the ethics of the situation and the fickle meaning of morality in today's society.

It also has me thinking about the world in a lot of ways lately, especially why we choose to defend the people we do in situations with blurred lines.

The story first broke on July 15, when Brian Krebs, an Internet security expert, posted that a group of hackers called The Impact Team had invaded Ashley Madison, Avid Life Media (its parent company), and two other hookup sites and compromised users' confidential information, threatening to release the data unless the websites were shut down. The group stayed true to their word on Aug. 17 and 19, when they made the personal information of over 30 million users and Ashley Madison's CEO, Neil Biderman, available to the public. Once rumors started to circulate that "19 Kids and Counting" star Josh Duggar had an account, the Ashley Madison scandal blew up even more and sent married people all over the world into a frenzy as they wondered (and probably checked) to see if their spouse had an account.

The primary issue that comes into play here is the invasion of privacy, which occurred for two parties: Ashley Madison users -- who were guaranteed, upon signing up, that their personal data (home addresses, credit card info, etc.) would remain 100 percent confidential -- and the company itself, which stayed afloat for so long because it was fast, provided millions of unsatisfied people an easy way to cheat on their partner, and earned their trust. Ashley Madison's downfall goes to show just how powerful and potentially damaging the permanence of the Internet can be, especially in an age when the success of businesses big and small heavily depends on their digital presence.

All of this has caused me to ask one question over and over again: Why does it seem like the media is coming to Ashley Madison's defense?

One headline that immediately jumped out at me was "The Ashley Madison hack ruined my life," an article posted on CNN Money. The author detailed the tragic stories of women who either had Ashley Madison accounts or whose husbands were using the site to cheat on them. Recently, Canadian police made a plea to the public to give any information that could help identify the hackers in exchange for a $500,000 reward (yes, you read that right -- half a million dollars) from Avid Life Media.

I understand that this massive leak of personal information is incredibly damaging to the lives of millions of affected people around the world; I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it must be for someone to find out that their life partner was having secret extramarital affairs for a long period of time. It's a betrayal of unforgivable proportions. But hard as I try, I just don't feel bad for these people or the company. Ashley Madison advertised its role as a promoter of "married dating" and for whatever reasons there may be, over 30 million online users made the decision to accept the offer. I'm sure their partners and relationships are ruined beyond repair, but when you take the website out of the equation, it all boils down to the fact that these adults knowingly, willingly consented to adultery. They abandoned any morals they may have had the minute they clicked the sign up button, and although I do feel that a database hack of this size is incredibly destructive, I refuse to waste time feeling bad for cheaters.

So where do things go from here? It isn't quite clear yet. Ashley Madison is still up and running as of now, but Biderman, the CEO, has stepped down, and it's safe to say that the chances of the website gaining many news users are slim to none. The carefully constructed Internet empire of infidelity is facing its demise. Cheaters gon' cheat...it's just a matter of whether our society would rather turn a blind eye and allow them to take advantage of technology to do so. Are we going to only hold people to high standard in certain circumstances instead of always? Are moral values and ethical judgment optional in this digital age?