Networking Issues and Security in E-Commerce

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According to Qin, e-commerce is “commercial trade activities carried out by electronic methods, the electronization of traditional trade” (14). These electronics, which refers to systems tools electronic technology, include television, facsimile, telephone, e-mails, computer, electronic money, electronic data interchange, and internet among others. E-commerce is characterized by network component and security components. Network components include internal business network, customer internal network, and the path between the business and the customer through various ISP. Security components include security technologies, social and organizational issues in security, and security vulnerability in electronic commerce.

For instance, in Canada, Telecommunication firms and financial institution have come together to form one of the biggest B2B electronic marketplaces. The firm will provide commercial products, furniture, equipments, computer accessories and hardware. According to The Business Link, the firm will also issue services like promotional items, travel and courier services in an effective way. Another Canadian firm has also specialized in agricultural products in North America. The company brings traders and grain producers together, and inputs, processors of which it transacts day to day business through the internet.

Internet service providers (IPS) are the bodies that provide various types of connections to enable individual or business computer to access the internet. They are majorly commercial firms that levy their users, whether administrations, households or companies, fee basing on the contractual agreement. ISP’s offers regional, local and international coverage for its customers. They include; telecommunication providers, pure-play ISP both wireless and wired, and cable providers that give accessibility to the internet. ISP’s have the necessary equipments and telecommunication networks access for “a point-of-preference” on the network. The ISP’s may also offer some correlated services outside the internet access, like a web page design, web hosting, and software and hardware consulting services.

With the introduction of public internet and e-commerce, computer networks and private computers are likely to be exposed to damage if they are not adequately protected. Threats to networks are vividly represented by hackers, malicious employees, viruses and even human errors. Despite network security companies try to come up with forewarning and detecting products against interruption and defraud, hacker intrusion remain challenging danger to e-commerce since they progressively find the defects of unclosed system, and interfere with network systems of e-commerce willingly (Randy & Joseph). Hence, security has been a major concern in the e-commerce trade.

There are several ways through which hackers assault and destroy network systems. This include, intruding according to internet application, for instance; mail and web services, remote login, and anonymous file access. Protocol decodes non-authorized access, system proxy attack and detection before the attack among others. Furthermore, another danger is the unlawful installations such as Trojan horse software that would execute a refuse-service attack. Hackers would also have to change the login programs to a postern one, which function as the original login program, and incarcerate the user password without realizing. Hence, need for utilizing safety scanning equipments for detection of vulnerability and errors, firework technologies for the safety protection of network. Lastly, remember to support the system files since they will enable one recover fast in time of being attacked.

China is improving a broad band network with fiber technology that is also capable of supporting the new IPV6. Thus, it is advisable to positively adapt this detection and forensic technology to prevent interruption in broadband networks, which is not only the latest security system structure model but also the new network security control platform to develop the future necessities of e-commerce. Another security technology used by business to protect their internal network is the firewall, which is a software and a hard ware that only permit external users with certain features to access a protected network

Another security method is the use of Routers. It is network traffic-controller device that is placed in between route traffic aimed for and sub-network, hence making them sensible places to apply packet filtering rules.

Conclusion

Generally, internet is an excellent media that enable a fast, two-way and safe communication. Internet is also cost-effective compared to electronic data interchange despite performing the same functions, a technology, according to Alberta’s has been on the market for twenty years. Additionally, the internet has more abilities than EDI. A serious issue in e-commerce is privacy. It was found out that the majority of e-commerce had not met the essential elements of just information exercise.

Perhaps the expanding growth e-commerce in the global economist is as a result of exploitation of internet. The other factors that have increased the marketability of the e-commerce may be the frequent use of trade media such as televisions, electronic payments, and telephones. Hence, this has made e-commerce an integral part of the global economy. Several e-commerce sites have been accused by consumers for not keeping their data private even when the firms promise them to do so. According to Armstrong and Culnan (as reported by Teixeira & Rexford) those customers’ posses’ two sorts of privacy alarm. One, they are afraid of an unauthorized person accessing his/her personal information due to security violations or inadequate internal control. Lastly consumers are worried about the peril of secondary use. This is where information is shared to with third parties who never belonged to the transaction.

E-commerce industry is gradually tackling the security issues on their internal networks. Guidance lines are available for securing networks and systems for e-commerce. Impacting knowledge in to consumers about security issues is still at a window stage, and seems to be a headache to e-commerce industry (Rongsheng).

The greatest menace to e-commerce is the instigation of Trojan horse programs, which tends to be against clients since they can bypass most authorization and authentication mechanism used in e-commerce business. The funny thing is that this program is easily installed on a remote computer by e-mail attachment.

The ISPs have a greater challenge in operating their networks to avoid interruption and limiting their extent and impact. Below are the challenges that the ISP operators should handle. Slow routing protocol junction, whereby data packets are lost, delivered out of order or even delayed causing severe ruin in daily performance during the route protocol convergence (Teixeira & Rexford). Another issue is where the routing protocol convergence reacts excessively to microscopic changes in the configurable data and network topology. It is possible for ISP to combat some of the difficulties. They should access control over traffic flow by equipping engineering tools to predict the impacts of alteration to the routing configuration and IGP topology.

Works Cited

Qin, Zhen. “Introduction to E-commerce.” Beijing : Tsinghua University Press. 2009. Print.

Randy, Marchany C., & Joseph, Tront G. “E-Commerce Security Issues.” Proceedings of the 35th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. 2002. Web. December 9, 2011http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_35/hicsspapers/pdfdocuments/inisc01.pdf..

Rongsheng XU. “Security Forensic on E-commerce.” n.d. Web. December 9, 2011. < HYPERLINK “http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan001217.pdf” http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un/unpan001217.pdf>

Teixeira, Renata., & Rexford, Jennife. “Managing Routing Disruption in Internet Service Provider Networds,” n.d. Web. December 7, 2011 <http://www-npa.lip6.fr/~teixeira/commag.pdf>

The Business Link. “E-business Supply Chain.” March, 2010. Web. December 7, 2011 < http://www.canadabusiness.ab.ca/docs/E-BUSINESS-SUPPLY%20CHAIN.pdf>