What Do We Know About E-commerce Safety?

The use of computers and networks has undergone three phases or "waves": Basic office automation - in the era of mainframe using computers were performed such functions as billing, financial operations, management personnel list. Pass-through automation of office - after the appearance of personal computers and local area networks with help of computers were performed functions such as typing, business correspondence, financial analysis, etc. Automate interaction with customers - after a PC became commonplace, both at home and in the office, and the Internet made the interaction cheap and contacts between companies and their customers (people, other companies, etc.) are increasingly being implemented through computer. The interaction of the buyer with the seller using computers and networks - it is an e-commerce.

Products in the area of e-commerce safety can be easily installed. Most products of e-commerce safety are given with default settings. However, organizations have different policies of security and configuration of all systems and workstations are rarely consistent with each other. In practice, the system must be aligned to the organization's security policy and each of the specific configurations of platform. Checking the mechanism of service of rapidly growing number of users and other attributes of creating of secure environment for the hundreds of available users can be very complex and lengthy process.

If we talk about e-commerce safety we should say that PKI-products protect electronic commerce without additional configuration. PKI-products are the basic tools which help to implement solutions in the field of security, but only as part of the whole package, which also includes the legal, procedural, and other technical elements. In practice it is often much harder and more expensive than installing a basic PKI. Security consultants deserve more trust.

Remember that security consultants will have access to all your most sensitive data and processes. If these invited consultants do not work in any respected company, you need to retrieve information from a disinterested source about their competence and experience - for example, talk with their former customers. There are plenty of consultants who claim themselves as professionals in the field of information security and e-commerce safety, but in reality they almost have no idea what it is. They can even create a false sense of security, assuring you that your system more secure than it really is.

Thus, before looking through the latest brochure on security issues, sort through the ground: carefully calculate the types of risks to your e-commerce business and what they would cost you, and do not spend on defense more than this assumed price risk. Observe the balance between the procedural and technical security controls. Develop a full project, in which security would be one of the pillars, and was not brought to a post-factum, after some hesitation. Select a product of e-commerce safety related to this project. After this there will be a guarantee that the business which took you so much time and real efforts will be in a real safe and you will not have to worry about security of your money.