Legal Question in Technology Law in California

I have an e-mail account with Microsoft (Hotmail). Today I learned that my e-mail account (which is stored on Microsoft's e-mail servers, not on my own computer) was hijacked and a spam e-mail was sent out to all of the contacts on my contact list (which is also stored on Microsoft's servers). As the result my contact list was compromised and the specific e-mail addresses of my contacts were disclosed to others. This may present a problem in terms of confidentialty among other things. IMHO this is a fault of Microsoft for failing to insure adequate security on their e-mail servers for customer accounts.

Apparently Microsoft knows that this is a problem because they have published solutions on their web site, but it's after the fact, closing the barn door after the horse has run away.

Is there a liability issue here? Thank you.


Asked on 9/24/10, 12:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

While Microsoft's free Hotmail service can be just as vulnerable to hacking as any other company's offerings, Microsoft is too big to be accountable to anyone, which is one reason why some people won't purchase or use Microsoft products or services except (perhaps) for operating systems..

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Answered on 9/29/10, 12:37 am


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