All business owners should
be aware of the risks associated with conducting business on the internet.
Ventures like this can pose serious security risks if they are not gone about
in the correct manner. A responsible business owner needs to take the necessary
precautions when they decide that they want to conduct an e-business. Taking
the time to protect your business from hackers will maximize the potential for
success.
“The term hacker was originally used to refer to a
self-taught computer expert who is highly skilled with technology, programming,
and hardware” (Jenkins, 2000). Hackers target small businesses because they
lack the resources that large corporations possess to provide security. A
malicious code can destroy all of a company’s code generators and programs.
They have caused companies to lose millions of dollars as well as industry
position. To avoid malicious codes debilitating your online company, anti-virus
and anti-spyware programs should be used and updated regularly and have the
most recent patches. A firewall is also a good tool to utilize when trying to
protect your online business from these types of threats.
Data breaches are a common problem seen by online companies
that fail to secure their wireless internet networks properly. It can lead to
your customer’s financial information falling into the hands of someone who
intends to misuse the information. If you intend on using a wireless network
for you business you have to ensure that proper security steps are taken. The
default password should be changed to something lengthy and preferably
containing both large and small letters as well as numbers and characters. You
should also make sure that you encrypt your wireless router with Wi-Fi
protected access or WPA. If you aren’t
using a wireless router, you should still secure communications that go on over
a network. This should be done with the use of internet protocol security or
IPSec.
Another important internet security
issue that stems from network use is an always-on connection. Most internet
businesses rely on a high bandwidth connection like DSL or a cable modem. An
always-on network connection leaves you vulnerable to attacks 24/7. Static IP
addresses are also maintained when using an always-on connection. The presents
a problem because “once a potential hacker has found the computer, he or she
will be able to return to it as long as it is using the same IP address, placing
it at greater risk of malicious intrusion” (Jenkins, 2000).
E-businesses constantly exchange data.
It is important to be aware of who you are exchanging data with. Connecting to
systems that are owned as well as controlled by others can pose serious
security issues. Because of this, it is important that the security mechanisms
chosen are “standards based, flexible, and interoperable, to ensure that they
work with others’ systems. They must support browsers, and work in multi-tier
architectures with one or more middle tiers such as web servers and application
servers” (White, 2002, p. 4).
It is also important to encrypt the information that you
keep on your personal computer. You must be prepared for the possibility that
your computer could fall into the wrong hands. If it did, you would want to
ensure that whoever has the computer won’t be able to view any of the sensitive
information being kept on it. To protect your business from the possibility of
a computer being stolen, use encryption programs that make information
unreadable without an encryption key or password. “An additional strategy
is to utilize Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and/or S-HTTP, which work great to secure e-business
transactions and other communications between browsers and Web sites” (B.,
2010).
When it comes to email, security should be a number one priority.
All emails should use file encryption so that communications remain between the
customer and the business. Employees should also be made aware of spear
phishing scams. They could receive emails that appear to come from a legitimate
place like an IT department and be asked to relay sensitive passwords via
email. Employees should always be made “aware
of what a spear phishing attack is and to be on the lookout for anything in
their in-box that looks suspicious (Teixeira, 2007).
I
have no doubt that an acceptable level of security can be reached when
conducting business over the internet; however, it is a business owner’s
responsibility to take the proper steps to ensure the highest security level
possible. Security of an e-business is a
multifaceted challenge requiring appropriate policies and practices. When you
have successfully deployed an internet business, you will have developed a well
established risk management procedure to deter disintermediation of data
access. Providing security for your
internet business shouldn’t be hard. There are numerous program providers in
the network security field to help you. Failing to take it into account at all
would be a fatal error on a business owner’s part.
References
B., D. (2010, May 28). Exploring the Security Concerns for
an Online e-Business. Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/computing/enterprise-security/articles/72582.aspx.
Teixeira, R. (2007, June 4). Top Five Small Business Internet
Security Threats. Retrieved from http://smallbiztrends.com/2007/06/top-five-small-business-internet-security-threats.html.
