E-Commerce Security Measures the Internet Has Positively

E-Commerce Security Measures

The Internet has positively created new life in business commerce, through website development. It has also opened up a new way for criminals to steal secret data of businesses and information regarding clients' banks details and contacts. This has made customers to becoming rapidly more aware of the websites they visit and where they input their personal information to avoid fraud cases (Corr S. Pondent, 2009).

However, e-commerce security measures deal with issues such as protecting the integrity of the business network and its internal systems. Besides, it ensures that the customer's information is shielded from everybody else, and must not be open to alteration or tampering, whilst going through the process of authentication and receipt. This ensures that there are secure business transaction between the customer and the business (Randy C. Marchany, 2002).

E-commerce business has put in place several different security measures to protect customers and the business from fraud issues. Such measures are the installation of "Digital Signature" at the virtual storefront. This guarantees that there is digital information which tells clients about the type of security being used by the company. It's like hanging a certificate behind the counter in a physical store (Randy C. Marchany, 2002).

Digital signatures are a way for authenticating the sender and the receiver of information. When making a transaction a client can ask for a password as a digital signature, to protect the identity and personal data. For example when buying certain product from Amazon.com or Newegg, there are certain boxes with jumbled letters and numbers which you are asked to copy in the box. That is used to verify who you are and to ensure that it's not an imposer who is trying to log in. You put a digital signature on your storefront. This helps customers to be confident that you are who you claim to be. This is a line of defense against being "conned" by would-be impostors, who just want access to your money (Avi Rushinek, Sara Rushinek, 2002).

A cryptographic securities protocol is another security measures being applied by the e-commerce. This operates at different layers of the computer system's communications protocol stack to provide another level of security for e-commerce systems. At the network access layer, a Point-to-Point-Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) could provide security, and at the transport layer, a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) could help with communication security. There also are other protocols that operate at or above the application layer such as IPSec security protocol and TLS which protect data above the application layer (Randy C. Marchany, 2002).

The secure socket layer (SSL) is visible when the web page is closed or open lock. A client can click on the lock to view certificates and find out if the website is actually encrypted. Behind the scenes, information is encrypted using a public key and a private key. Technically speaking, the public element is used to encrypt and a private one used to decrypt. From the customer to the server, to your server to the payment gateway, and the credit card issuer, several layers of security come into play. The encryption and description process safeguards customers' credit card information from unauthorized access (Corr S. Pondent, 2009).

E-commerce systems also use firewalls as a security device. A firewall is a highly resistant system that a business places between its internal network and an external network, through which all traffic passes. Only traffic that the firewall authorizes will pass into the e-commerce system. Typically, a firewall system consists of one or more of the e-commerce system's host systems and routers, and also uses other security measures (Corr S. Pondent, 2009).

For instance, instead of using constant passwords, the firewall might use more advanced ways of authentication. Firewalls are used specifically to block unwanted intrusions. A client should be certain to have one on his/her personal computer at home. Again for secure business transaction, it should make sure that there is firewall on website, so that others cannot access any customer data that may be stored on your server. Don't take the risk, as a few "on point" virtual assistants can make all the difference in your long-term goals. (Corr S. Pondent, 2009).