Legal Issues with hosting Ecommerce sites

["Scott, Richard" <Richard.Scott () bestbuy com>]

> >
        > Hello, everyone. I am looking for information on regulation,
statutes,
        > etc., that address a company's liability when providing a service
        > without adequate security.
        > For example, a Web-hosting company is hosting multiple commerce
        > servers for third-party companies.  Does anybody have any idea of
the
        > liability incurred by the Web Hosting company should the servers
        > integrity be compromised and any financial losses occur?  Any
        > resources, (links, whitepapers, etc...) would be greatly
appreciated!
        > Thanks!
        > 
*       Ty Mellon

If the company hosting the sites were compromised, it would be a case of
what was the breech in security, was it preventable with certain measures
and what the companies disclaimer covers.
If the integrity of a hosting company were to be compromised, and I was the
a customer, I would see if the breech was due to malpractice or not.  But
what is malpractice and what is necessary means of security, is a grade of
shay darker than the question, what is adequate security?

I see so many disclaimers of if the site is compromised, then it's no
problem of the hosting company.  Most companies have this attitude, which
has been borne out from the software licenses that are riddled with
disclaimers etc.

I think e-commerce, security and other online laws need to be brought in
with some tighter definitions.
As for references, you may need to seek a good lawyer (if you are the
hosting company) ;-)

Ensure that contracts are clear who is at fault if a breech in security
occurs!

Cheers
Rich

Richard Scott   
(I.S.) E-Commerce Team
*Tel: 001-(612)-995-5432
* Fax: 001-(612)-947-2005
* Best Buy World Headquarters
7075 Flying Cloud Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344 USA

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