Is is extremely possible that having a website with personal information and little security could get you sued for any damages caused by the inadvertent release of personal information. Damages could include the emotional turmoil caused by release of personal information.
For instance, hotels with sloppy security have been held responsible for the emotional and physical damages caused by a rapist. Similarly, a website owner could be held responsible for the release of information which causes a robbery. Some people NEED privacy as they are being stalked.
The courts will not allow the website to blame the hacker for the loss of information if the website did not even have the minimal security necessary to protect the information.
For instance, the families of BART policemen could sue the union's website for the emotional distress caused by the posting of the BART policemen's addresses. This is because the union did not have the kind of security that is necessary to protect the privacy of the police officers.
Yes, the hackers may not be nice people. Or the hackers may have been making a political point. It makes no difference why hackers hack. Website owners know that there are hackers out there. They know that the police officers need to keep their home addresses private. Yet websites store the addresses of police officers without the security necessary to keep a bright teenager from hacking the websites.
The attorneys that handle these matters often take the case for a percentage of what they win (called a contingency fee). You may not have to pay them ANYTHING to take the case. They are called PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS. You can get these attorneys even more interested if a group of you get together as the more people the greater the damages. There has to be a certain amount of money on the table for it to be worth while bringing a lawsuit.
It is unfortunate that people have to get sued before they will take the trouble to protect your personal information.
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