The Rate of Crime on the Internet - Research Paper Example

? Identity theft- Privacy Matrix James Moravec The 21st century e-commerce has brought about significant benefits and massive challenges with identity theft being the most common problem facing the e-commerce industry. The number of e-threats facing consumers and e-commerce providers using the internet are innumerable (Chou, 2012). Today, many customers are at the risk of losing personally identifying information to criminals who use sophisticated technology to steal data from consumers and use them for criminal activities. The rate of crime in the internet has created a dilemma for e-commerce customers who risk their data while using various services. In addition, e-commerce providers also face the risk of losing information they acquire from customer to threats that may breach their information systems. With many companies have fewer strategies to combat identity theft, against a backdrop of continued collection of personally identifying information, there is need to develop effective weapons to combat identity theft. Laws, regulations, and policies are the most effective weapons. The issue of identity theft presents ethical challenges that continue to challenge the success of e-commerce industry. While the industry has transformed commerce through practices that do not require face-to-face interactions, the danger of consumers losing their personally identifying information has far reaching consequences that could erode gains in privacy protection. Notably, the existing challenge of identity theft has created many concerns about the loss of personally identifying data and its impact on stakeholders involved in the e-commerce industry (Camp, 2007). From the privacy matrix in this paper, it would be vital to note that identify theft has created varying influence on various elements that define the e-commerce industry. Specifically, it has significant influence on laws, regulations, and policies that aim at curbing theft and misuse of personally identifying information. Privacy matrix The road to combating identity thefts is paved with challenges and hurdles that require a concise choice of solutions. Today, many stakeholders are involved in the e-commerce industry ranging from clients, governments to organizations that serve as e-commerce providers. The e-commerce environment has brought together various organizations and entities that co-exist and have various forms of interaction. With many players working interacting in the electronic environment, there are concerted efforts to develop strategies that help reduce the challenge of identity theft. More specifically, there is a need to strike a balance between choosing strategies that enhance protection of personal identity while creating less burden on e-commerce systems. With the e-commerce built on a system that relies on personally identifying information, enhancing safety of personally identifying information has never been this important. The privacy matrix in the paper outlines several channels where identify theft can occur within the e-commerce industry. E-threats can compromise personally identifying information when consumers visit the e-commerce websites of their choice. During such visits, the consumers can provide website with information such as phone numbers, passwords, credit card numbers, and in some cases their social security numbers. This information is critical for various e-commerce processes, but e-threats can capture them. At the front door, organizations that collect this information could be at risk of front door e-threats. These e-threats may include spyware, phishing and active or passive collection of personally identifying information. With regard to these threats, the use of laws and policies are essential in combating the loss of information at this point (Roberson, 2008). With consumers being at risk of losing information when these e-threats strike, laws could be effective in mandating the companies provide information about the security of user data to enable consumers take appropriate action about their disclosures. While the front door e-threats are not the only challenge facing consumers, it presents an opportunity for consumers to understand the consequence of releasing personally identifying information. E-commerce companies that collect personally identifying information are at risk of internal threats. Many e-commerce companies face e-threats that are outside the scope of consumers and enhancing the safety of personally identifying information require stringent regulatory framework. Inside the companies that collect user data, greater control over personally identifying information remains the most essential weapon for combating identity theft. With many companies have massive use information that could help e-criminals execute identity thefts, it the duty of the companies to ensure that user personally identifying information are safe from dating mining, violation and other external breaches that could result from hackers gaining access to this information (Chou, 2012). Policies and regulatory framework are vital in ensuring that personally identifying information is safe while the e-commerce companies store them within the internal network. Another threat of user data e-commerce companies collect is unlawful dissemination of data such as the sell or transfer of personally identifying information from one company to another. The cyberspace environment is massive and cleaning personally identifying information can be a daunting task. When an e-commerce transfers the data to the cyberspace, the data identifying particular individual may be irretrievable further worsening the security of users (Hoffman & McGinley, 2010). The risk of dissemination is best dealt with use of privacy-enhancing regulations. Such regulations are critical in promoting other laws that will enhance the security of data from external violation. Ethical dilemma: Identity Theft dilemma Stakeholders Confidentiality: Justice: Veracity: 1. Federal government The state should create laws that ensure personally identifying information protection is observed. These laws should guide the role of e-commerce providers in proving security The government should enact laws that provide regulatory ceiling in the use of technologies to ensure that consumer’s protection is enhanced in the e-commerce platform. The federal government should publish laws that require e-commerce providers to provide true information to regulators on how they handle user information. 2. Clients There should be policies among e-commerce providers that inform client not to provide personally identifying information where not necessary such as revealing passwords to employees. E-commerce providers should outline policies that recommend clients to use protection measures to limit threats such as phishing on the part where possible. E-commerce companies should have policies that require clients to provide true information about their records to ensure they are safe from e-threats. 3. E-commerce providers Using policies and regulation, e-commerce provider must prevent loss of personally identifying data through external breaches or internal data mining. Establishing policies and regulation on conduct of company personal is critical in this area. The e-commerce provides must provide tools and processes to protect consumers from e-threats while visiting their websites. The providers must use policies to provide security to all clients using their websites as they key in personally identifying information. E-commerce providers must provide clients with policies that state how they will use the user data. The providers must also inform customers how their will store the data after collecting them creating, which will enable the clients to make correct decisions among providing personally identifying data. Informing the clients about such information should be via policies that users should read before conducting any transaction that require personally identifying information. 4. Regulators Regulators should enact regulations that hold providers responsible for safeguarding the privacy of user information at their disposal. Establishing regulations that mandate e-commerce providers to adopt technologies that promote security of clients, provide personally identifying information. Regulators should establish policies that require providers to inform clients about data breaches that they may carry out measures to mitigate loss of the personally identifying information. References Camp, L. J. (2007). Economics of identity theft: Avoidance, causes and possible cures. New York: Springer. Chou, T.-S. (2012). Information assurance and security technologies for risk assessment and threat management: Advances. Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference. Hoffman, S. K., & McGinley, T. G. (2010). Identity theft: A reference handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO. Roberson, C. (2008). Identity theft investigations. New York: Kaplan. Read More