E-commerce security and fraud protection Term Paper

E-commerce security and fraud protection - Term Paper Example E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods and services by via electronic platforms such as the Internet and other computer-based networks (Schneider, 2011). It has grown to be a necessary tool for efficiency in business. However, this platform has been faced with a myriad of challenges with Moftah, Abdullah and Hawedi (2012) indicating that the problems relate to consumers’ protection in their transactions which call for trust and privacy across the different geographical locations. Mohapatra (2013) argues that e-commerce transactions have been constrained by security, with consumers wary of the privacy of their personal information and the use of credit cards to make online purchases. The increased use of mobile devices has even further complicated security provision in e-commerce. Thus, a secured system would be needed to enhance e-commerce growth. E-commerce is online, thus accessible to the general public. The increase in cyber crime has also seen an increase in security threats in e-commerce. According to Mohapatra (2013), amounts reported globally, largely from frauds and hacking in e-commerce, stand at over $ 388 billion per year. As such, e-commerce has suffered the resultant liabilities, loss of trust and additional cost for clean-up. This calls for an effective security systems that would protect consumers and merchants from such losses. According to Schneider (2011), such a system would be pegged on a complex interaction of several database management systems, applications development platforms, network infrastructure and systems software. This encompasses preservation of integrity, confidentiality and availability of computer and data resources, referred to as the security triad. Further to this, there would be need for non-repudiation, access control and privacy. Access Control Approaches The first way in which e-com merce has been secured and protected against fraud is through access control. Physically, access control would involve the restriction of an unauthorized person into a building, property or room. In a similar manner, e-commerce has applied several technologies that control access to Internet resources, including authorization, authentication and audit (Farshchi, Gharib and Ziyaee, 2011). The model in this case entails the subjects, these being entities that could perform an action on the system, and objects, these being entities to which access needs to be controlled. Both of these should be taken as software entities as opposed to human users since a human user would only have an impact on the system through software entities on which they have control. First, user IDs, passwords, biometrics and tokens have been used to authenticate an individual. As observed by Mohapatra (2013), authentication involves what the user knows such as a password, what a user possesses such as a token o r what the user is, such as biometric characteristic. The user ID/password approach verifies a user against a set of ID and password. This has however been noted to be the least secure technique in e-commerce because of the threat of guessing, eavesdropping, external disclosure, host compromise and replay attacks (Schneider, 2011). Thus, user IDs and passwords could be combined with physical tokens, creating a multiple factor authentication so as to

Complete a project based on your choice of an investment portfolio Essay

Complete a project based on your choice of an investment portfolio - Essay Example In addition to this, it helps to identify the risk associated with each of the financial assets. Risk involved in portfolio investment is directly linked with the value. The willingness of an individual make investment or avoid risk is the most important factor for portfolio investment (Reilly & Brown, 2011). The investment portfolio has to be made in such a manner that maximum return can be earned from financial assets. The investment portfolio has been based from Monday 2nd March 2015 to Monday 6th April 2015. The major aim of investment in financial assets is to earn return and maximise profitability. Moreover, portfolio investment is considered to be the safest mean of earning income. The total amount fixed for portfolio investment is  £100,000 (Reilly & Brown, 2011). The paper analyses current market trend and the risk involved with each of the financial assets that has the potential to prevent investments. Apart from risk other factors that have the potential to affect investment in financial assets include the amount invested and the expected length for which an individual holds different financial assets. The time horizon defines the time period between the investment in financial assets and receiving the return from it. The time length is considered to be the crucial factor in portfolio investment, because it directly affects the ability of investors to minimise the overall risk involved. The paper analyses the financial market according to the data of London stock exchange and identifies the assets from which the borrower can achieve maximum return with respect to the risk involved. Investment theory focuses on the process of decision making associated with selecting the appropriate financial assets for investment that in turn has the potential to maximise the overall return earned. Investment theory defines the relation between the risk involved in investment and overall return from the financial assets. Investment in financial