Security for Consumers Doing Online - Literature review Example

Essay Name: Institute: Is there sufficient security for consumers when they do online Abstract Recently, online shopping or e-shopping as a business technology has presented a universal platform for selling as well as purchasing goods and services and promoting vital organizational processes. Additionally, e-shopping provides vast business opportunities to both small-scale as well as large-scale industries, as scores of companies at the moment desire to host their enterprises in the internet to reach the new-fangled market subsequent to their failure to reach such market through advertising campaigns or sales team. Scores of custom brick along with mortar enterprises have created an online presence, which facilitates their customers to shop practically anytime they desire. Subsequently, by devoting their resources online, nearly all organization not just anticipates a sales increase, but as well to heighten public knowledge of the organization’s service and products, and confidently more customers. In this regard, the argument essay seeks to examine whether there is sufficient security for consumers when they do online. The essay will mainly concentrate on reduced confidentiality, the risk of using personal information on online shopping. Introduction Undoubtedly, trust erosion amongst online clients along with online-established businesses correlate in a direct manner to the internet security challenge, wherein shoppers fail to have adequate faith with web providers to engage with them in relationship exchange. In essence, trust is imperative for both long-standing and temporary effectiveness of e-shopping as a preference for clients. With increase in security challenges as well as the trust in e-shopping being feeble, the majority of online business organization, together with government agencies, has come up with measures to overcome this mounting challenge as well as reinstate confidence amongst consumers in using online-based technologies. With regard to recent global e-commerce security threat, Nazir et al. (2012) affirm that the majority of online-based companies experience more online attacks as compared to non-government and government websites. For example, in 2006, public companies experienced more than 1,200 attacks; government organisations suffered less than 600 attacks with nearly all of such attacks surfacing from China as well as USA. Although, the study was carried out in a span of six months, it managed to ascertain several vital trends that are significant for e-shopping. The study ascertained that on average, almost 30 attacks occurs weekly, which presents a 60 percent increase of such online attacks annually. For that reason, security remains to be a key setback in developing as well as maintaining an online presence (Nazir et al., 2012). In this regard, the argument essay paper outlines a number of security threats posed to e-shopping as well as its impact on consumers’ confidence to buy goods/services by means of the internet. Definition Online shopping or e-shopping according to Nazir et al. (2012) can be defined as a form of online business which permits consumers to directly purchase products from a supplier or vendor over the Internet. Internet privacy on its part is defined by Udo (2001) as the mandate or right of individual privacy with reference to the, repurposing, storing, as well as information displaying with regard to oneself through the Internet. Basically, concerns with regard to privacy have enormously affected the consumer online purchase patterns, and so it remains to be a security challenge. Phishing as a security challenge can be defined as a deceitful gathering of private information to facilitate identity theft as well as fraud and is still the biggest setback for both online retailers as well as financial institutions. Reduced Confidentiality Debatably, with the internet infiltrating every facet of economy together with society, consumer has turned out to be conscious of the possible threat in making use of e-shopping. Incidentally, this consciousness has unhelpfully impacted the majority of online-based organization, leading to additional endeavours on the side of organization to convince custom client not just to shop physically, but as well to make use of the internet to shop. According to Tsai et al. (2011), security challenges continue to thwart the continued progression of e-shopping given that it generates barriers that are swiftly heightening. This without doubt continues to harmfully impact consumer confidence in search of web information and/or do online shopping. Of late, online survey proves that while users perceive internet as a marketing channel, privacy challenges heavily influences the decisions for online shopping. For instance, in 2011, a survey by Gartner Group ascertained that 96 percent of US-based customers are more concerned about their while 53 percent of those who do not use e-shopping are more concerned about cybercrime. Huang et al. (2004) note that cybercrime could negatively impact the customer use of internet thanks to the perceived risk associated with its utilisation. The survey by Gartner Group, further established that online security challenges consist of risk in e-shopping, which crops up from heightened deceptive internet activities. Besides that, consumer’s awareness of existence of security challenges may considerably diminish e-shopping usefulness as a possible channel and for marketing. According to Udo (2001), prior to computer inception along with the connectivity associated with internet, hoaxers moved from one city to another, giving customers false promises about a sensational medication that can roughly heal everything. But upon inception of computers, these fraudsters realized that online-based customers are hidden treasure, and so they pretend that they are selling a certain product, and when the customer buys the product online, the product is not at all delivered. Online security challenges have a direct effect on the targeted information systems, which can take place in either of these threat groups: deception, exploitation, destruction, denial of service. With regard to the aforementioned threat groups, an attacker can hack the system of the organization and close down its operation (denial-of-service), get admission to the system and key in false information (deception), or electronically damage the system (exploitation). In addition the hacker can send a virus that has the ability to damage the system (destruction), or gain admission to the system and steal vital information about the consumer (exploitation and theft) (Udo, 2001). Identity Theft and Phishing Identity theft has been the biggest security challenge in e-shopping, and it has surfaced as the top setback for many organizations in this technological epoch, as scores of hackers together with scammers steal other people’s private information such as numbers of credit card as well as driver license. Presently, identity theft is not just about people allured to present their confidential information into the hands of attackers, but as well how organisation experience challenges to keep their customers private information safe (Huang et al., 2004). In addition, compromised systems are the main internet security threat given that they are utilised to instigate various security attacks like identity theft and spamming. With regard to scientific research, Tsai and Yeh (2010) posit that spamming presents an essential fiscal motivation, for hackers to launch their attacks. In this case, identity theft can be divided into four sets that is; monetary identify theft, which involves utilising identity of a different individual so as to buy products online; another set is identity cloning, whereby someone takes another person identity for day after day activities. Commercial identity theft is another set, and it entails using a company’s commercial identity, while the final set is felony identity theft, wherein a person pretends to be another person when detained for a particular felony. Statistically, Identity Theft Resource Centre (ITRC) in its survey established that crimes related with financial identity theft has heightened to 80% globally and compared to other sets, it is the most reported case. Jun and Jaafar (2011) posit that to combat identity theft both technological as well as managerial resolutions must be taken into consideration. Above all, incidences of identity theft particularly in e-shopping have heightened significantly; thus, endangering online shoppers’ privacy. Deception through Phishing Phishing on its part occurs when hackers send to potential online shoppers phony emails with a link to deceptive websites that appear authentic and in so doing luring the victim to offer their confidential information. Phishing attack as per Tsai et al. (2011) inflicts extra business security threats that consist of malware together with viruses. There are two main forms of phishing: spoof websites, which is a replication for the already substring e-shopping websites like eBay. Besides, Spoof websites endeavours to steal identities from inexperienced user in terms of personal information, account Logins, as well as credit card numbers. Attackers using phishing intend to copy thousands of legalized e-shopping websites, by using online databases for online embezzlement like PhishTank, which amass URLs for spoof websites that are approved. An additional form of phishing is deceptive shopping websites where users are lured by hackers who endeavour to appear exceptional and lawful commercial entities. Moreover, the deceptive websites key goals are to steal customers’ money and disappear devoid of delivering the agreed products. In this regard, companies offering e-commerce and e-shopping services must use anti-phishing tools, which protect users against phishing fraudsters. Conclusion In conclusion, it has been argued that e-shopping is internet-based, and is important for business-to-customer transactions, but security threats present an enormous setback. What’s more, online attacks pose a serious security threat to the confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of enterprise information systems; as a consequence, it makes development of resourceful security techniques as a top priority. A number of the common security threats posed to e-shopping consist of identity theft, phishing, and denial of service attacks. Such threats lead to trust erosion and heavily impacts customer purchasing patterns as well as market value. Based on the presented statistics, it is evident that online attacks pose a serious threat to consumers’ privacy, and if no not addressed the potential benefits of e-shopping will not be realised fully. Therefore, consumer purchase behaviour is in this case affected by security challenge, compelling many people to do physical purchase rather than shop online. References Huang, W.-y., Schrank, H., & Dubinsky, A. J. (2004). Effect of brand name on consumers' risk perceptions of online shopping. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4(1), 40–50. Jun, G., & Jaafar, N. I. (2011). A Study on Consumers’ Attitude towards Online Shopping in China. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2(22), 122-132. Nazir, S., Tayyab, A., Sajid, A., Rashid, H. u., & Javed, I. (2012). How Online Shopping Is Affecting Consumers Buying Behavior in Pakistan? International Journal of Computer Science Issues (IJCSI), 9(3), 486-495. Tsai, J. Y., Egelman, S., Cranor, L., & Acquisti, A. (2011). The Effect of Online Privacy Information on Purchasing Behavior: An Experimental Study. Information Systems Research, 22(2), 254-278. Tsai, Y. C., & Yeh, J. C. (2010). Perceived risk of information security and privacy in online shopping: A study of environmentally sustainable products. African Journal of Business Management, 4(18), 4057-4066. Udo, G. J. (2001). Privacy and security concerns as major barriers for e-commerce: a survey study. Information Management & Computer Security, 9(4), 165 - 174. Read More