Security Threats of E-Commerce
INTRODUCTION
E- commerce, which is simply the system of transacting business through the use of electronic and digital media as the computer and mobile devices, has become not just a necessary but also an effective means of global economic development. The astronomical growth of interconnectivity through the computer network (I.e., internet) has made e-commerce a veritable tool for quick business relationships to be formed without any form of physical contact. At the click of the mouse, business transactions ranging from banking, shopping and all manner of trading are carried out by millions of internet users on a daily basis.
Due to the impersonal nature of communication over the internet, and obviously, these processes take place in a public yet remote and therefore, untrusted network; there are many security concerns involved. These concerns range from the verification for the identities of the people concerned, to the protection and validity of data in transfer.
Despite the increasing use of the internet in business transactions, a major security issue with e-commerce activities is associated with confidentiality of electronic payment details. Globally, security concerns continue to persist with many consumers still reluctant to impart credit card information over the Internet and mobile devices.
This paper will discuss fundamental security threats associated with the increasing reliance of e-commerce for business transactions and various ways to minimize these threats. While we shall look generally at security threats and how they affect the various parties in an e-business transaction, our focus in this paper is on customer-to-business transactions over the internet and electronic payment systems that involves the exchange of value between consumers/customers and businesses.
E-COMMERCE AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
E-commerce thrives on the ability of the internet to ensure effective business communication between parties to a transaction. Consequently,
E- commerce, which is simply the system of transacting business through the use of electronic and digital media as the computer and mobile devices, has become not just a necessary but also an effective means of global economic development. The astronomical growth of interconnectivity through the computer network (I.e., internet) has made e-commerce a veritable tool for quick business relationships to be formed without any form of physical contact. At the click of the mouse, business transactions ranging from banking, shopping and all manner of trading are carried out by millions of internet users on a daily basis.
Due to the impersonal nature of communication over the internet, and obviously, these processes take place in a public yet remote and therefore, untrusted network; there are many security concerns involved. These concerns range from the verification for the identities of the people concerned, to the protection and validity of data in transfer.
Despite the increasing use of the internet in business transactions, a major security issue with e-commerce activities is associated with confidentiality of electronic payment details. Globally, security concerns continue to persist with many consumers still reluctant to impart credit card information over the Internet and mobile devices.
This paper will discuss fundamental security threats associated with the increasing reliance of e-commerce for business transactions and various ways to minimize these threats. While we shall look generally at security threats and how they affect the various parties in an e-business transaction, our focus in this paper is on customer-to-business transactions over the internet and electronic payment systems that involves the exchange of value between consumers/customers and businesses.
E-COMMERCE AND BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
E-commerce thrives on the ability of the internet to ensure effective business communication between parties to a transaction. Consequently,
References: 1. Haag, Cummings, et al.; (2006). ‘’Management Information Systems for the Information Age’’ (3rd ed.). Mc-Graw-Hill Ryerson 2. O’Mahony, Donal, et al.; (2001). “Electronic Payment Systems for E-Commerce” (2nd ed.). Artech House Computer Security Series 3. Hassler, Vesna (2001). “Security Fundamentals for E-commerce” Artech House Computer Security Series