We both work in banks so we can both understand the seriousness of this kind of matter in regards to how much it would affect people if certain programs get hacked into. What measures are being taken in financial institutions to make sure that peoples' personal information remains safe? Where is the future of banking going, in regard to how many hackers are out there trying to steal identities and money?
The biggest and best measures banks have against online hackers are encryption and firewalls. Encryption is defined as “To alter (a file, for example) using a secret code so as to be unintelligible to unauthorized parties.” (American heritage dictionary, 2006) The first line of defense against hackers is your initial login. You sign in with your username and a password to an online site. Banks also set up firewalls and encryption codes on their own internal networks. They set these up so that even if hackers can get into the system, they will encounter multiple problems in their attempt to steal money or people’s identities. Banks take hacking very seriously.
What is the most likely purpose of hacking; to profit or to disrupt a system? And, I have never been the victim of any e-crimes. What is the probability that it will happen to me in the future?
Hacking actually has both purposes. An interesting phenomenon about hacking is that many companies will hire computer experts who have knowledge about hacking in order to prevent other hackers from getting into the system. (Cukier, 2006) There are hackers out there who want to hack for financial purposes, and there are ones who only want to hack for the accomplishment.
Do you think it's a combination of faster servers and peoples' increased reliance on the Internet that has allowed for businesses to thrive online? It seems like people these days are more prone to purchase online without the hassle of going out of their homes or offices...or is it just that broadband speed has made it so efficient and easy to purchase?
It has been a huge combination of sorts. With faster response times and larger databases to put more products into, the online business has boomed. As mentioned in the article, one of the biggest changes in online consumerism is the purging of abandoned shopping carts. One of the biggest things that slowed down processing speed was saving online shopping carts that potential buyers had set up. Now that they have the extra space to save them, and the knowledge of when to purge them. (Tan Moinzadeh & Mookerjee, 2005)
Amazon.com, eBay, Walmart.com, and others have efficiently designed websites. What design elements (like product presentation) improve sales, increase visitors, and enhance advertising on these sites compared to other inefficient company websites? What is working for them?
The best things online purchasing sites can offer are flashy, user-friendly interactions. These companies have a difficult time attracting customers over their other sites, so easy to use websites are a must. The most important thing in all sites, just as it is in regular business, is the quality of products. If you don’t have good products, you won’t see higher profits, no matter how pretty your website looks.
References
American heritage dictionary
Cukier, M. (2007). Watch That Passwd. Science, 315, 917.
Tan, Y., Moinzadeh, K., & Mookerjee, V. (2005). Optimal Processing Policies for an e-Commerce Web Server. INFORMS Journal on Computing, 17(1), 99-110.
