Web Commerce Security Design and Development

Securing Your Transactions

The term “transaction” is often used in software generally, and in e-commerce specifically. At the core of the Web commerce system lies exchanging of values; secure transaction is the process that allows this exchange to take place securely. Transaction is a process that is typically divided into individual and atomic portions. That is, a sequence of predetermined events should occur in a specific order and in succession so that the transaction is completed, or so called “committed.” This is similar to a financial transaction in many ways; you choose an object to buy in a store, you present the seller with the proper amount of money, the seller receives the notes and verifies that they are valid and of appropriate quantity, and he gives you the merchandize along with a confirmation of transaction, usually in the form of paper receipts. The transaction is committed.

The reason that the topic of transaction, and consequently transactional security, is important to mention in this chapter is that transaction in e-commerce context is defined as the confluence of software functionality, process management, human interaction, and exchange of values. Transaction is also similar to flying an airplane from point A to B: It has a starting point, the middle in-flight section, and a final landing portion. To make a transaction secure, it is necessary to ensure the security of all of its pieces, and doing so in synchrony; just making sure that the landing portion ...