Introduction

E-commerce has grown over the years thanks to many achievements and investments in the sector. Security itself is an essential part of transactions, and its value cannot be compromised at any single time. The desire to create confidentiality of data, the integrity of the customers’ data and ways to authenticate this data is always the core idea in creating secure e-commerce systems and platforms. The creation of security protocols is on a daily basis the focus of e-commerce companies as they cannot be able to handle a situation where customers data is compromised or used in the wrong way. The future of trade and commerce is getting more online on a daily basis, and it is prudent at this point to have all that is required to be in place to make online shopping more secure, safer and easy to use.

Security Protocol in Web-based e-commerce

There are security protocols used in web-based e-commerce platforms. The usage of the protocols depends on the type of platform and the goods which are traded on the site (Sherif, 2016). The first security protocol is the Secure Socket  Layer (SSL). The Secure Socket Layer is mostly used across the industry as it is easy to set up and meets many conditions that are set. It meets authentication needs,  encryption, integrity, and non-reputability of the data. Using Secure Socket Layer means creating a valid website that can handle basic e-commerce transactions as it has the required security features (Osman et al., 2017). Strengthening the platform to be able to handle more will be dependant on the needs that might arise.

The Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (SHTTP) is another security protocol that is used in most e-commerce platforms. THE SHTTP extends with public key encryption, authentication and a digital signature (Sherif, 2016). The protocol supports security mechanisms and provides enough security to end users. The designers of most e-commerce platforms tend to focus on the usability or experience of customers when coming up with the security protocols to be used (Tekin et al., 2018). The Secure Electronic Transaction developed by MasterCard and Visa is so far the best protocol. It has the cardholder digital wallet software that allows the cardholders to make secure purchases online and via a reliable point interface (Osman et al., 2017). The protocol also has a merchant software that helps in communication with potential customers and other financial institutions (Sherif, 2016). The payment gateway server software that automatically helps in standard payment processes is also another feature that makes it the most secure protocol for use in web-based e-commerce (Tekin et al., 2018). The last widely used protocol is the Secure Electronic Payment Protocol (SEPP) that is an open, and vendor-neutral license free protocol that secures online transactions over the internet with ease (Osman et al., 2017). The Secure Electronic Payment Protocol was done by IBM, Netscape, MasterCard, and CyberCash among other developers who felt that the existing protocols were not fully inclusive (Sherif, 2016). It is, however, important to understand that the security protocols are important in securing customers data and power to create transactions that are free of errors (Tekin et al., 2018). Reducing cases of fraud over the internet will however require a comprehensive security protocol that does not overlook any important aspect of the trade. Most web-based e-commerce platforms have over time been designed to be able to handle several security protocols all with the intention of keeping frauds at bay and helping boost the confidence of customers who use the websites (Osman et al., 2017).

Application in Real Life

The usage of security protocols in real life situations cannot be limited to just e-commerce platforms. Most of these technologies and features can be spread in many other fields that are concerned with providing a secure way to handle customers data (Sherif, 2016).  First and foremost, securing financial data of customers is a big step that can other be underestimated. Since the aim is to create confidence in users of the platforms and allow interconnection with other platforms that share data is vital in achieving a balanced output (Tekin et al., 2018). Encouraging a sharing platform among the vendors, financial institutions and other customers itself requires a strong security protocol that cannot be compromised (Sherif, 2016).   In this case, security protocols can be used in bolstering the security of systems used by bank and financial institutions (Tekin et al., 2018). Securing data held by data handling companies is also a good example of what having security protocols would mean. In a way ending or minimizing cyber crimes in a way can be reduced by having strong protocols in place.

Conclusion

As the world is moving towards the age of using less of notes, cheques and coins and more of card money, it’s essentially important to ensure that all loopholes are sealed and customers data and private information are secured. Since achieving this is not an easy process, it is required for web-based e-commerce platforms to have a model by which they can try out their systems before releasing it to be used in public.  Minimizing fraud and overcoming challenges in payments and processing of these payments will require an inclusive and comprehensive security protocol that does not allow data to leak or get lost.

References

Osman, A. M., Dafa-Allah, A., & Elhag, A. A. M. (2017, January). The proposed security model for web-based applications and services. In 2017 International Conference on       Communication, Control, Computing and Electronics Engineering (ICCCCEE) (pp. 1-6). IEEE.

Sherif, M. H. (2016). Protocols for secure electronic commerce. CRC press.

Tekin, M., İnce, H., Etlioğlu, M., Koyuncuoğlu, Ö., & Tekin, E. (2018, August). A study about affecting            factors of development of e-commerce. The International Symposium       for Production Research (pp. 625-642). Springer, Cham.