The threat of online security: How safe is our data?

Online security is often a major cause that held back the development of e-commerces. Consumers tend to worry about their personal data to be leak out and used in negative purposes. On another hand, organizations are worried about the online security too. According to Information Security Survey, 2000, companies conducting either B2B or B2C e-commerce experience a significant higher rate of both insider and outsider security breaches than companies not conducting e-commerce.

However, as the technology grow along quickly, the security requirement has been increased to protect the safety of the information. The security requirements are summarized into 3 category namely Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authentication.

Confidentiality makes sure that a message is kept confidential or secret such that only intended recipient can read it. It able to eliminates the consumers' worry about their personal data to be fallen to unattended personnel. Encryption is a favourite tool to provided confidentiality.

Integrity is aiming to make sure that if the content of a message is altered, the receiver can detect it. Thus, when a payment information is changed, the message is no longer valid.

Authentication is about verify identity. Where the identity of the company can be verified before carrying out a transaction. In an open c-commerce system, a digital certificate is employed to satisfy the authentication requirement. Besides, it ensures that the involved parties cannot deny the occurrence of a transaction.