RE: osCommerce bulk mailer ABUSE

This message was sent from: GNU General Public License
http://forums.oscommerce.com/viewtopic.php?p=183142#183142
----------------------------------------------------------------

Well, first off I would like to point out that it doesn't matter if bogus e-mails were sent from the oscommerce bulk mailer or not. Your question is not contingent on the application used. Slander is slander and electronic fraud is fraud. Using a piece of GPL'd software illegally doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of the GPL license, but rather criminal law. 

Second, you may have a h#ll of a time trying to find out who the perpetrator is. Most ISPs don't store log info for users beyond a certain date and unless the attacker used a static IP address somehow tied to him you are going to be undertaking quite a big task. I wish you good luck.  I personally would take this opportunity to evaluate your security and intrusion detection methods. More than likely this will not be re-attempted by the same individual.. if it does continue to happen than you really have no recourse but to persue this with a strong determination.. otherwise you will no doubt lose clients.

As I am unfamiliar with UK law governing electronic medium.. and I am not a lawyer, I would probably suggest that you take the matter up with the local authorities and they can guide you in the right direction from there, if this is something you wish to persue.  My guess is that your oscommerce site was compromised at the Admin side and the attacker used that accesss to gain client info - perhaps they used your oscommerce installation, perhaps they used theirs.. you would have to look into all of these things.