E-commerce: The threat of online security : How safe is our data?

Nowadays, people rely on computers to create, store and manage critical information. Consequently, it is important for users to aware that computer security plays a major role in protecting their data from loss, damage, and misuse. Similarly, online security has been online trader’s main concern in protecting their websites from potential threats, such as phishing, security hacking, information theft, virus, worms and etc.

However, the increasingly developed technologies sarcastically increase the risk every computer user faced. Everyone who owns a computer with internet connection is able to equip themselves with ‘hacking’ knowledge by making some research online. Internet provides the opportunities for users to share the knowledge without filtering the content. Therefore, everyone can learn skills that may jeopardize online security via internet and therefore increase the online security risk.

There are a lot of threats surrounding and saturated in the website by the hackers. Technically, one of the most common threats is the use of malicious software in tracking and exploiting the trust and confidential information in between the transaction.

Cyber attacks or vulnerabilities fall under several general categories:

I. Malicious attacks

ii. Computer viruses

iii. Online fraud

iv. Identity theft

v. Data theft

I. MALICIOUS ATTACKS

Attacks that specifically aim to do harm are known as premeditated or malicious attacks. They can be further broken down into attacks caused by malicious code and those caused by intentional misrepresentation. Misrepresentation is most often seen with regard to on line fraud and identity theft (see below). Malicious code, on the other hand, is at the root of so-called "crackings" and "hackings" - notable examples of which include computer viruses, data theft, and Denial of Service (DOS) attacks.

ii.Computer Viruses

The most common form of malicious code is a computer virus -- a program or a fragment of code that replicates by attaching copies of itself to other programs. There are four main classes of viruses:

1. The first class consists of file infectors, which imbed themselves into ordinary executable files and attach to other system executables when the file is run.

2. The second category is system or boot-record infectors, which infect the first sector on a driver from which the operating system is booted-up. These viruses are not as prevalent now that floppy disks are less frequently used.

3. The third group of viruses is called macro viruses, which infect data files that include scripting "macros".

4. Finally, viruses that use more than one attack method are called multi-part viruses.

1.Worm

It's a malicious software which is a stand alone application. It's often designed to propagate through a network, rather than just a single computer. When your computer is infect of worm, computer will slow starting or slow running. It'll also face unexpected or frequent system failures.

2.Trojan Horse

It is a Worm which pretends to be a useful program or a Virus which is purposely attached to a useful program prior to distribution. It's same as Virus or Worm, but also sometimes used to send information back to or make information available to perpetrator. Trojan unlike Worms, which self propagate, it's require user cooperation.

iii.ONLINE FRAUD

Online fraud is a broad term covering Internet transactions that involve falsified information. Some of the most common forms of online fraud are the sale via Internet of counterfeit documents, such as fake IDs, diplomas, and recommendation letters sold as credentials; offers of easy money, such as work-at-home offers that claim to earn individuals thousands of dollars for trivial tasks; prank calls, in which dial-up connections lead to expensive long distance charges; and charity facades, where donations are solicited for phony causes.

iv. Identity Theft

Identity theft is a major form of online fraud, or misrepresentation. Personal identity theft on the Internet is the newest form of fraud that has been witnessed in traditional settings for many years. For example, in traditional settings, thieves open credit card accounts with a victim's name, address and social security number, or bank accounts using false identification. In the online world, electronic commerce information can be intercepted as a result of vulnerabilities in computer security. Thieves can then take this information (such as credit card numbers) and do with it what they will. This is one of the reasons for which it is critical that consumers and organizations avail themselves of appropriate computer security tools, which serve to prevent many such interceptions.

Identity theft can also be undertaken on a large scale, as in the case of a company or even a city. For example, in January 2001, the entire municipality of Largo, Florida lost e-mail service for over a week when an unknown company based in Spain compromised its identity. The company hacked into the city's e-mail relay system to steal the Largo.com identity. Soon enough, e-mail spam seemingly from Largo.com addresses flooded.

v.Data theft

Data theft is the term used to describe not only the theft of information but also unauthorized perusal or manipulation of private data.

To promote safety of users data in online transaction, the Symantec had enclose worldwide security intelligence data gathered from a wide range of sources through their products to ensure security. Future more, it attracts email from around the world to measure global spam and phishing activity to provide an extensive antifraud community of enterprises and consumers; and receive fraudulent Web site addresses for alerting and filtering across a broad range of solutions. There is more products and services provided by Symantec to secure data and reduce the risk of being attack by hackers. For safeguard of non technical threats, enterprises are given advice to secure their own data and customer data by setting up an outside personal storage device and well manage their web based asset.