What legal steps can I take if my website becomes a victim of cybercrime?
November 13, 2022 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Otto Ullmann
Dear lawyer,
My name is Elvira Zollmann and I operate a website that recently fell victim to cybercrime. On my website, I have an online shop through which I sell my products. A few days ago, my shop was hacked and sensitive customer data was stolen. Additionally, all of my product images were deleted and replaced with obscene graphics. These incidents have not only resulted in significant financial loss but also compromised my reputation as a reputable online retailer.
I am deeply concerned about the security of my website and my customers. I wonder what legal steps I can take in this situation to hold the perpetrators accountable and pursue compensation claims. Furthermore, I am wondering how I can better protect my website from cyberattacks in the future to prevent similar incidents.
Can you please advise me specifically on the legal options I have to take action against those responsible? Are there any specific laws or regulations that can assist me in this case? What steps should I take first to improve the security of my website and prevent further attacks?
Thank you in advance for your support and advice.
Sincerely,
Elvira Zollmann
Dear Elvira Zollmann,
I understand your concerns and the seriousness of the situation you are facing after your online shop fell victim to cybercrime. It is important that you take the necessary legal steps to hold the perpetrators accountable and claim compensation for damages.
First and foremost, it is important to know that cybercrime is punishable in Germany. The Criminal Code (StGB) contains various paragraphs that make the misuse of data and computer systems, as well as unauthorized access to them, punishable. Offenses such as data misuse, computer sabotage, or data alteration can be reported to the police.
Therefore, you should immediately file a report with the police and secure all evidence pointing to the cyber attack. This includes, for example, log files, security logs, and all information regarding the affected customer data. The more information you can gather, the better it is for law enforcement authorities to identify and hold the perpetrators accountable.
Furthermore, you should consider taking legal action against the perpetrators to claim compensation for damages. You can sue the perpetrators for damages to compensate for the financial loss you have suffered. It is important that you document all incurred costs and losses precisely in order to prove them in court.
To better protect your website from future cyber attacks, I recommend taking various security measures. These include regular software updates and security patches, using secure passwords, encrypting data transmissions, and implementing firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
Additionally, you should also consider informing your customers about the incident and possibly offering measures to secure their data. Transparency and openness in handling such incidents can help regain the trust of your customers.
I hope that this information is helpful to you and I am available for further questions.
Sincerely,
Otto Ullmann
