The Security of Electronic Commerce: Risks and Possible Consequences Cover Image

Безопасността на електронната търговия: рискове и възможни последици
The Security of Electronic Commerce: Risks and Possible Consequences

Author(s): Rumen Varbanov
Subject(s): Economy
Published by: Стопанска академия »Д. А. Ценов«

Summary/Abstract: This article is dedicated to one of the today’s electronic commerce key problems - ensuring the data security within a Web environment. For this purpose the major threats to the security of e-commerce and modern tools and technologies for providing security are analyzed. The first part of the sudy examines the importance of security and confidence for the successful development of the electronic commerce. A lot of concrete data and arguments are put forward, which give reason to conclude that the Internet security problems now have national and international significance, because the national information resources in the environment of uncontrollable open systems are an easy target for abuse and related damages .An attempt to present the electronic commerce satus quo and some of the security problems of e-commerce in Bulgaria is made. The second part deals with the potential threats to the electronic commerce, which can compromise the deal in several aspects - confidentiality, integrity and accessibility of each of the four phases through which the process of online commerce is presented - informing, contracting, delivery of purchased online goods and service and maintenance. According to the author it is expedient that possible threats are to be systematized and according to their nature in several large groups of threats related to: the communication environment; the technical components; the payment process; the applied cryptographic methods and technologies; other types of threats. It is concluded that electronic commerce brings together many different functions based on the use of modern ICTs as a new technology for organizing the contacts between buyers and sellers, methods of presentation, discussion and formation of orders, defining the terms of the deal, the sequence for the sale of goods and services and the processes for making the online payments. The thesis the author defends is that the risks caused by the continuous development of the electronic business worldwide are developing so rapidly that the information security specialists are unable to respond adequately and to ensure a reliable operation of the information systems. At the same time there is an urgent need for guarantees through which to enhance the level of consumer confidence in the online commerce and facilitating their lives, to reflect favorably on the e-business as a whole.

  • Issue Year: 2009
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 31-54
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Bulgarian