question_answer

What are the threats to e-transactions? Which measures have been devised for their protection?

Answer:

Ans.     There are many threats to e-transactions. Risk here is referring to probability of any mishappening that can result into financial, reputational or psychological losses to the parties involved in the transaction. It includes:

1. Transaction risks: It can be of three types:

(a) Default on Order Taking or Giving: Seller denies that the customer ever placed the order or customer denies that he ever placed the order.

(b) Default on Delivery: It happens when either goods are delivered at a wrong address or wrong goods are delivered.

(c) Default on Payment: Seller does not get the payment for the goods delivered but customer claims that he has made the payment.

2. Data Storage and Transmission Risks: Data stored in the systems and en route is exposed to a number of risks. Major two risks are related to virus and hacking.

Virus is a program which replicates itself on the other computer systems. The effect of computer viruses can range from mere annoyance in terms of some on-screen display (level -1 virus), disruption of functioning (level-2 virus) damage to target data files (level-3 virus) to complete destruction of the system, (level-4 virus). Hacking refers to unauthorized logging into the account and misusing it for selfish purposes or for fun only. Antivirus can help to protect files from virus and cryptography is used for protection against hacking.

3. Risks of threat to Intellectual Property and Privacy: Once an information is uploaded on internet, it loses privacy and IPRs. It becomes difficult to protect it from being copied and being accessible to one and all.

The following measures have been devised for their protection:

1. Secure Socket Layer (SSL): It was designed by Netscape for use in electronic commerce for transactions involving confidential information like credit card numbers. SSL uses a system of public and private key authentication combined with schemes to verify electronic signatures. Public key is the password that the sender uses to encrypt the data and the private key is used by the receiver of a message to decrypt the data.

2. Cryptography: It refers to the art of protecting information by transforming it (encrypting it) into an unreadable format called 'cyphertext'. Only those who possess a secret key can decrypt the message into plain text. It is like coding and decoding.

3. Password: The parties to an e-commerce transaction must use the password.

Password is a code fed in computer by the user. It can be in alphabets or numeric or alpha-numeric characters. Unless a person feeds in the password, system shall neither respond nor give effect to the transactions. Therefore, one must keep a password.

4. Cookies: Cookies are very similar to creating ID in telephones that provide telecallers with such relevant information as the customer's name, address and previous purchase payment record.

5. Anti-virus: There are anti-viruses which remove any type of virus from the system.