Can an e-commerce site owner be guilty of a crime if the site is hacked?
<p>Are there any crimes that could apply to a site owner if his e-commerce site is hacked?</p>

<p>Correct me if I'm wrong, but even though the question is little detailed, I'd propose a few inputs on the matter.</p>

<p>First, it's important to differ <strong>crime</strong> and <strong>judicial punishment</strong> the same way we divide <strong>criminal court</strong> and <strong>civil court</strong>. It's important to note that <em>usually</em> a crime requires intent (with obvious exception of crimes against life); that is, to commit a crime you are required to be <strong>motivated</strong>, be interested in the outcome, to have the <em>intention</em> to do it. On the other hand, <strong>civil courts</strong> won't bother to limit themselves to your wishes, if damages were caused, damages might required to be repared.</p>

<p>What we can conclude is that it's more likely for the owner to be held accountable for the <strong>damages</strong> he caused in a civil court rather than a criminal one. Although the website was hacked, the information stored there is in the owner's responsibility. The more sensible the data stolen is, the more damages it might cause.</p>

criminal-law hacking