The threat of internet security and its effects on electronic commerce

The threat of Internet security is an issue of growing concern. In the last decade, the number of people using computers on a regular basis has exploded. For quite some time now, computers and the Internet have been a source of entertainment and education, and not until recently have become a means of doing business. At the same time the Internet has also been a fertile ground for fraud. The absence of global regulation, a general lack of experienced personnel, security holes created by bugs from software vendors, a lack of understanding of technology by the average user, and easy access to the Internet from anywhere, makes the Internet a tempting network for crime. Areas of vulnerability and of common security leaks include chat rooms, e-mail, browsers, and modems.

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) can be defined as using an electronic network to simplify and speed up all stages of the business process, from design and making, to buying, selling, and delivering (Furnell and Karweni, 1999). Because the Internet is fast, reasonable, reliable, inexpensive, and universally accessible it is considered to be perhaps the best modern method for business's to communicate with their customers and with their partners. The Internet reaches more the 100 million consumers all over the world. As of 1999, there were three million traders on the Internet and this number is predicted to rise to 14.4 million by 2002, over a 300% increase in three years (Furnell and Karweni, 1999).

The Global Trading Web Association (GTWA), the worlds' largest independent membership organization of electronic marketplaces, announced on November 12, 2001 that activity among its e-marketplaces is growing at an aggressive rate. When comparing January-June 2001 activity with the same time period in 2000, GTWA e-marketplace transactions have increased 733%, with their 2001 year-end projections topping 2 million. When...