Auditing Information Systems, Second Edition

13.5. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

Electronic commerce is the process whereby goods and services are purchased through some electronic medium. Electronic commerce is becoming the desired transaction method for many businesses. It is relatively inexpensive to administer as compared to cash, check, and verbal transactions because it requires very little human labor. Many people enjoy the convenience of being able to purchase goods and services via their PCs at home or work. The primary drawback to this transaction method has been the risk of consumers having their credit card numbers, checking account numbers, and other personal information stolen or intercepted during an electronic commerce transaction and used for unauthorized purchases, especially for transactions conducted through the Internet. As a result, many potential customers are uncomfortable sending their credit card numbers and other information across the Internet or any other open electronic network.

While the growth in the number and amounts of electronic commerce transactions has been rapid in our technology-hungry society, the general acceptance of this transaction method has been much slower than expected. Encryption technologies, which were discussed in Chapter 11, have significantly increased the security of electronic transactions and are a critical aspect of electronic commerce. Several electronic commerce security technologies are described next.

VISA International and MasterCard International, which jointly have ...