Information Security Management: Awareness of Threats in E-Commerce

Introduction

E-Commerce plays a vital role in today’s business, and that will continue growing in the future. E-Marketer predicts that worldwide e-commerce revenues are expected to total USD 2.7 trillion by 2004 (Reinsch, 2005). Information is a valuable asset in any organization particularly in the e-market. To effectively manage the threats and risks, the company should establish their Information Security System. There are several problems associated with information security, for example, phishing, slammer attack, stolen or ignorance by the employee or organization itself and so on. To avoid or minimize these problems all organizations should practice the critical success factors (CSF) to implement an effective information security. In practice, most information systems need the active participation of staff throughout the organization.

E-shopping is now a popular method among all types of shopping; e-shopping covers everything from groceries to cars. As the number of e-shopper grows, the number of businesses that move into e-commerce also grows. Direct selling and buying are increasingly taking place on the Internet. One of the first to report sales in the millions of dollars directly from the Web was Dell Computer. Web research is becoming significant as the customers can book and check their Travel information through the Internet. Custom-orderable golf clubs and similar specialties are considered good prospects for the immediate future (Nelson, 2001). The expectation that e-commerce would quickly become a part of the consumer’s everyday life has not been completely fulfilled in practice and one of the reasons for this failure is said to be the consumer trust, or rather the lack of it (Merrilees and Frye, 2003). So security is a very serious issue for e-commerce businesses.