Everyone
has caught the “Internet Fever”, where people start using the
technology of computers to communicate with others, searching for news
from around the world, and even shopping without leaving their house. Many
traditional companies have started to find better ways to replace
telephone calls and paper-based procedures for product design, marketing,
ordering, payment and customer services. All of these can be done by the
power of Internet. Companies now use the Electronic Business (e-business)
also known as Electronic Commerce (e-commerce), so people are now able to
search the Net and purchase any kind of product ranging from books, toys,
and food without ever leaving the house. Another transaction that can be
done through the Net is banking online. Customers can check their balances
and pay their bills 24 hours a day without driving to the nearest bank.
With
all of these capabilities offered by the Internet, e-commerce companies
have tried to convince all of its prospective customers that their website
is the most secured. However, many known sites have been hijacked by
irresponsible people, also known as “Hackers”. The first big event was
the case of CD Universe, where an unauthorized person had accessed its
database containing customers’ credit card numbers. Other well-known
sites such as Yahoo.com,
Buy.com, eBay.com, and even online broker
E*Trade.com
have faced the same problem where unauthorized people have accessed their
system illegally.
So
is it safe then to trust the website with our personal information such as
credit card numbers, social security numbers and many others? Despite the
low prices that those online companies have over the actual retailers, and
despite the convenience and comfort of doing this transaction from home,
there are many people who want to know just how safe we are when sharing
important information about ourselves.
