Introduction
The era of globalization and technological development resulted in the high promotion of the global network all over the world. Nowadays the success of business companies and enterprises is influenced by the internet. Due to the rapid development of internet technologies the notion of “internet security” is widely used in the modern business sphere. This term has been dominated in the network world for already many years; it is very important for big companies to protect their computers having access to the internet. Despite the great level of the protection system, there are some factors that brought vivid changes to internet security, such as the growth of online shopping and e-commerce development.
Internet Security Background
Internet security is considered to be some certain steps aimed at the protection of the computer system and its network worked out by the companies or individuals. Frankly speaking, the internet cannot be regarded as a secure environment. The data sent by the users over the internet undergo traveling through series of network links and computer systems. Very often it can lead to the fact that this information may be intercepted and changed by scam artists and hackers. To tell the truth the internet security system cannot protect every computer in the world from these changes.
Basic security methods are based on the well-selected password, backup of the information, and change of file access. To protect the computer system and the internet data in a proper way it is necessary to be experienced in the following aspects:
- Incidence Response;
- Legal Compliance;
- Security evaluation (a test of penetration);
- The intrusion detection.
Despite all these factors and skills, one cannot provide proper security for the internet system because of the various problems it can be covered by. First of all, one of the main causes of internet problems is viruses; they can be presented in the form of different damaging programs which usually rewrite software programs coding or destroy the information at all. Secondly, the problems can be caused by hackers.
They are the most disastrous problem for the computer system. Hackers follow different strategies in destroying the internet system. Thus, they can find a method of entering the computer system in order to steal or change the data inside the computer; or they are able to overwhelm the computer having the important information and as a result, it shuts down. Professional hackers are aware of many ways how to get access to computer information. For example, they can enter the network of a computer through the open port or an open internet connection even if it is not used. They can also try to destroy the passwords of the company employees in order to get the necessary information from the computer. They fulfill these operations through their skills or some special programs. (Thornton, 2008)
E-mail spoofing is considered to be one more key method used for computer attacks by hackers. It is the most widely spread way of getting and destroying information. The files are usually sent by hackers to the users (worker or customer), but as if they were e-mailed from familiar people. Such files enable hackers to get access to the passwords of the company and get secret information without any problems. Such attacks on the part of the hackers are quite frequent; especially they are spread on the websites of the company. Plenty of messages sent by the hackers can damage the whole computer system of the big company and destroy all the saved information and secret business files. (Berg, 2007)
The Growth of Internet Shopping
Nowadays the development of internet technologies resulted in the complete change of social structure and its values. People got used to the convenience and ease of the services provided. Consumers are fond of internet shopping because it provides a lot of advantages and benefits in usage:
- People can save their time and do not spare it visiting different shops;
- All the goods are delivered, so one does not have to carry all the goods by himself;
- One can easily compare the prices of different online shops just browsing the internet;
- Online shopping does not need a lot of effort and money to make the necessary purchases.
According to the report provided by the Council of Shopping centers, internet shopping saves about 75% of the time during great holidays. It was forecast that by 2015 almost 50% of all sales will be fulfilled through the internet. Such analysis brings a lot of troubles to the physical retailers who do not know how to raise the sales of their shops. (Linn, 2008)
Internet shopping is the motor of business development. According to the data of internet sales level provided last year, internet shopping is really trusted by people and more than 24 million Americans shopped over the internet for the previous year. It is closely connected with the fact that people appreciate the quality of the goods bought through the internet considering this process secure and convenient. The usage of convenient payment systems and considering the promoted brands the internet shopping replaced the real one and is constantly growing. (Darvill, 2008)
The Influence of the Internet Shopping Growth on the Internet Security Change
With the development of internet services, the general system of the global network underwent some changes. Business owners evaluated the threats of the sales conducting through the network. They try to establish and provide different additional policies to the security system in order to minimize the risk of their information damage. The development of the online shopping business requires special measures and changes in the internet security system.
The security system change is merely caused by the promotion of e-commerce and it is connected with the following factors:
- The data provided by the customers of internet shops are private and should be thoroughly protected;
- The process of online sales involves the circulation of big sums of money;
- Internet shops contain secret information concerning business operations and customers’ orders.
Evaluating the risks of information damage and stealing internet security experts managed to develop new aspects and methods of protection and contribute them to the security system.
The first innovation in the internet security system is the creation of special antivirus software which is nowadays widely spread among all the business companies and those who are busy with e-commerce development. This software should be regularly updated by the users. It can minimize the transmission of viruses to the online shop’s systems and protect the basic information from possible damage. Antivirus software is highly promoted in the sphere of the internet market and is widely used by specialists.
The second change in the internet security system is connected with the introduction of the firewall. It is considered to be hardware security software installed between the internet and a computer network. It performs the function of the protection device in the form of routing traffic, web server; it is aimed at blocking external users from their opportunities to get access to the internal system of the computer. But this way of protection is not very effective because it cannot provide security in cases when the network is left. (Berg, 2007)
The third point in the security innovations is encryption. It is considered to be a program that transforms the secret data into the form of a scrambled file and provides no opportunities for external users to read it and damage it. Encryption is the coding of secret information which enables business companies involved in e-commerce to store their data and protect it from external interference.
The changes of the internet security system are global because the development of internet shopping made the businessmen provide more thorough protection for their data storage. Nowadays there are different methods of business security provided through the internet. Users’ authentication is one of the most widely spread methods of computer protection. This process is fulfilled through passwords. It was mentioned above that some passwords can be stolen or even guessed, that is why companies began to use more sophisticated technologies for the security system, for example, voice recognition devices, ID cards which are specially coded, scanning systems, and special recognition systems being handprint. These systems provide complete authorization of the user.
Modern internet technologies development provides a lot of opportunities for the protection system through the internet. Thus, there is an opportunity to use digital signatures in order to provide authentication of e-mails and some other important documents.
Internet security change was merely caused by the necessities to protect customers making internet shopping. People who visit websites in order to buy something are usually concerned about the way this site is protected. If the level of protection is not significant and its quality is not high the company may lose customers. In such cases, the companies with online shopping should inform their clients about some possible hazards. There are some cases when a nonsufficient security system results in the stealing of the customers by promoting more secure sites.
One of the most helpful innovations in the internet security system is ISP (Internet Service Provider). It allows buying some webspace taking the secure server paying a reasonable price for it. E-commerce security can be provided by ISP in the most effective way.
This change in the internet system is used by small businesses very often because of its convenience and effectiveness. The global development of the internet system resulted in the creation of many safe systems available for business websites. Thus, for example, Netscape Navigator or Commerce Server can contribute a lot to the security of the small businesses run through the internet. There is always an opportunity to purchase special programs, internet security, or antivirus, in order to provide sufficient protection for the internet business and its customers. (Berg, 2007)
There exists a National Security Association which fulfills internet security for the companies which are involved in the development of e-commerce. The renewed internet security system provides an opportunity to establish different security policies in order to minimize threats of external interference. The internet security system is not fixed; it is in constant development providing its users with sufficient innovations of computer protection.
Conclusion
The research carried out proved that the area of the internet security system underwent considerable changes for the last decades. The innovations in the internet system provide small and great businesses with effective and sufficient services of protection. The changes in the security system can be observed together with the increase of threats provided through the internet. Viruses and skilled hackers are the main damagers of the information and secret files.
All the advantages and disadvantages in the internet area are closely connected with the rapid growth of internet shopping. Business companies providing sales through the internet felt the demand for a more effective security system for them to protect their clients and secret information from external interference. Thus, e-commerce influenced the development of the internet security system and brought rapid changes to it. As it was proved the innovations in the system of internet security are constantly developing making the business of internet shopping more convenient and safe for the customers.
References
Berg, Helen. IBM Internet Security Systems. 2007. Web.
Linn, Allison. Online Shopping Growth. MSNBC. NY, 2008.
Thornton, Angelica. Internet has changed our daily Lives. 2007.
Darvill, Jen. The Growth of the Internet Shopping. 2008.