P3

Hacking:

Hacking is where unwanted and unauthorised users gain access to a supposedly secure network. This unauthorised user or hacker can then change certain aspects of a website as if they were the user, these details could mean that customers could be giving their personal information to the wrong people/person. In the event of this happening, an e-commerce system would be forced to shut down, at least until the security issue has been dealt with. This means a substantial loss of money for the e-commerce business, pairing this with the already damaged reputation, could be detrimental to the business. The e-commerce business could prevent hackers by updating security software regularly and changing the access information, such as a password, often.

Viruses:

Like all of the above, a virus is the result of someone else on the internet that is actively seeking to cause damage to someone else's computer. It is computer code that is specifically written to gain unauthorised access to programs/files on a computer. A virus can gain access physically, through floppy disk or memory stick, or through the internet using email. Once it gain access to the files/programs it will 'infect' them, hence the name virus. The 'infection' attaches itself to an aspect of the computer, when the virus is triggered it releases what is called a 'payload'. This payload has the ability to be intrusive or destructive or even both and can show a pop up which activity tells the user their computer is at risk and there is nothing the user can do to rectify it. 

Worms:

Worms are similar to a virus in the way that it has a detrimental effect on a computer/computer system, but the two should not be confused as they are not the same thing. Worms invade a computer but run a file created specifically to run malicious code and doesn't show up on the users desktop as it runs in the 'background' which is similar to how spell check runs in the background of word. Worms can only be spread through connection to the internet which is dissimilar to the virus which can be spread a number of ways.

Trojan Horses:

In actual terms a trojan horse is a weapon used in the greek legend about the city of Troy. This legend says that the Romans and the Greeks were at war the Greeks used a large hollow horse as a peace offering which was then taken into the roman fortress, this horse contained greek soldiers inside who waited until sundown to attack the Romans successfully. The same goes for the technological namesake as it is normally disguised as something harmless and mainly beneficial to the user when actually it has the ability to delete files, allow entry to hackers (like the Greek Soldiers) and pass the horse on via mail to other systems. 

Web Servers:

Small Businesses may use a single computer as a web server because they can't afford to hire space on a secure server. This could put the small business at risk of losing everything it owns as it's web server system could be hacked. Web servers are used to host websites and deliver web pages to clients via Hypertext Transfer Protocol or HTTP. HTML documents are the most common delivery, these are documents written in HTML code for the internet. If a small business had a website on it's on private server, which got hacked into, it could lose all it's interface, it's customer details, it's own details and it's reputation for being secure. The answer to infection on web servers in Anti Virus software which protects against malicious software, they can protect from a variety of things but have the ability to cover the two previously mentioned as well as identity theft.


Identity Theft:

Usually the result of being hacked, identity theft involves hackers or anyone that has unauthorised access to the details of another person pretending to be that certain person. In the unlikely event that the website of a bank was to compromise a users details, the hacker would be able to pull all the money out of an account or transfer the money to a separate account. Again, this would not only affect the customer but the company that leaked the details, meaning they would lose money and potentially be out of business, The same precautions as hacking apply, to update security software regularly and change methods of access in the same manner. Asking customers to use gift cards or deposable credit cards would dampen the risk of their details/money being stolen, another way to decrease the risk of this happening would be to avoid shopping online on public computers.

Firewall:

Firewalls come as software and hardware. They are a security precaution that controls what can enter and exit a network, normally with more emphasis on what can enter a network and thats what poses the biggest threat. In terms of e-commerce, this is a necessary precaution as it prevents people from accessing a private network who aren't authorised, meaning customer's details will not be leaked. However, firewalls can slow down the speed of the server that your website is operating from, meaning that service may be slower which can either deter potential customers because do not like the waiting times, but could ensure customers that their details are being protected.