Cyber-Security and E-commerce Cyber-security is essential to e-commerce. Businesses must establish trust with their potential customers. Countries need to prevent cyber-fraud that can cripple e-commerce activity. Yet developing countries face special obstacles in their efforts to safeguard their companies' e-commerce activities. Many lack a legal infrastructure that can thwart digital crime. Yet these countries also have conditions that foster cyber-crime: many people with sophisticated computer skills and very low incomes, in an environment of expanding organized crime. The financial lure of cyber-crime can outweigh that of legitimate e-commerce. The challenge is particularly daunting for developing countries that lack representation in international merchant and bankers associations, and use accounting norms unlike those of the dominant economic powers.
Clearly, developing countries need more effective approaches to address this challenge. They need better communication with other countries, to collaborate and move quickly when cyber-crime threatens. Countries accused of poor cyber-security must establish their innocence or prove they are taking the steps needed to ensure security. Everyone involved in promoting e-commerce -- from businesses to the development community -- must find effective means to build cyber-security so that e-commerce can flourish. Key questions: 1) Who must take what steps to build global e-commerce systems? WTO? Donors? Transaction companies such as Paypal and Visa? Governments? Private firms? 2) Are there examples of public-private partnerships that have increased cyber-security? 3) Within countries, who must take what measures to build cyber-security and trust among consumers? The government? NGOs? Businesses? Citizens? 4) What solutions are working? Are there tools and techniques that have been effective and would be appropriate for developing countries? 5) How can organizations in developing countries get certified in order to build trust among potential e-customers? Do certification agencies have a responsibility to support cyber-security in developing countries? 6) When countries are branded as "unsafe" for e-commerce, what can innocent companies do to rescue their own e-commerce efforts? ------------ This DOT-COM Discussion is funded by the dot-ORG USAID Cooperative Agreement, and hosted by GKD. http://www.dot-com-alliance.org provides more information. To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd For the GKD database, with past messages: http://www.GKDknowledge.org
