Is Cyber Crime Becoming a Threat to E-Commerce?

Introduction

The internet has evolved into a resource in today's world for everything from online banking to online shopping. Physical markets are becoming less active than they were back when technology first began to advance in the middle of the 1990s. Despite the fact that some individuals could view the internet as a potential source of income without understanding the hazards involved.

One of the largest issues the globe is currently dealing with is cybercrime, which mostly affects the e-commerce sector. Every year, personal information worth millions of pounds is stolen from the internet. The rise of cybercrime has made it more difficult for online businesses to succeed. Therefore, I wrote this study to describe the numerous issues with cybercrime and how to address them.

In today's world of commerce, where it has moved from its traditional physical markets to electronic & mobile commerce, you may shop at your convenience and complete transactions anytime, anywhere, with just a click. There are no holidays, time limits, or distance restrictions. E-commerce offers the simplest and most practical means of conducting business and shopping. The majority of UK banks have put up their desktop and mobile software to make online transactions easier. Global online shopping behemoths Amazon, E-Bay, and the Chinese company Ali baba have moved to modernise the sector.

Since most transactions now take place online, this has led to an increase in criminality. Cybercriminals pursue large-scale information sharing and money transfers. All businesses are becoming more technologically advanced, and more and more consumers are relying on the internet for transactions without considering the risk involved. Cybercriminals can change electronic ownership, alter financial and other personal data, obstruct employee or business partner communications, steal intellectual property, harm an organization's reputation, or even force e-commerce (or an entire business) to close its doors.

Internet Revolution 

According to (Sarwar, 2013), the smartphone revolution in the telecom business has been gaining momentum, growing yearly, and presenting a tonne of potential with this small device that we use on a daily basis. With nearly 87.9% of the UK's population in this day and age (UK).

According to the Office for National Statistics, this number is probably going to rise. With smartphones in hand, a fast growing business is looking to the future and breaking the chain of conventional physical retail in the coming decades.

Online Crime and the Law

Cybercrime is any illegal activity carried out by criminals on the internet, including forgery, hacking, and other activities. Under the Information Technology Act of 2000, criminal acts such as theft, fraud, forgery, defamation, and mischief committed via the internet or electronic media are also referred to as cyber crimes (Amended 2008). According to (Holton, 2010), sophisticated cybercrime is caused by insecure networks, IT infrastructure, and a lack of consumer and organisational knowledge.

Cybercrime does occur anywhere in the world; these criminals exploit the internet to target people, businesses, or even the government. Here are some laws that the authorities take seriously:

• Modification of digital source documents

• Damage or loss of computer resources

• Cybercrime

• Electronic publication or transfer of pornographic material

• Certifying Authority for Failure

• Failing to assist in decrypting the material that a government agency intercepted

• Unauthorized access to computer systems that are secured

• Using false information to obtain a licence or digital signature.

• Disseminating erroneous information

• Online fraud

• Privacy invasion

• Fraudulent Electronic Proof

• Destroying digital evidence

• Falsehood

• Property Mark for Counterfeiting

• Alteration

In cybercrime, computers are employed as both weapons (in cyberterrorism, credit/debit card fraud, and electronic funds transfer fraud) and targets (in hacking, virus/worm attacks, operating system damage/spoofing, etc.).

The area of law that deals with the cyber world and its users is known as cyber law. It combines a variety of legal disciplines, authorised innovation, protection, communication opportunities, and ward. Cybersecurity aims to protect users from online fraud, humiliation, inappropriate online content, and illegal human action as explained in (Myarticles).

The proliferation of smartphones and tablets has increased e-commerce transactions, but it has also increased the possibility of cybercrime. The huge rise in cybercrime over the past five years has prompted lawmakers to pass legislation to punish the offences. To stop actions that are accountable for use from a negative standpoint, it is important to have strong legislation, raise awareness among the populace, and use technology.

E-commerce and cybercrime

The internet has become a haven for cybercriminals because to the new business models, which depend entirely on electronic media for banking, retail, and other operations. While businesses moving online are enthusiastic about their expansion, they are also concerned about security.

Kunzler (2005) argues that because the operations of the e-commerce sector differ from those of other sectors, it faces particular risks and challenges because physical distance increases the likelihood of fraud and other crimes. There are many more causes of unchecked e-commerce cyber frauds in different parts of the world.

As more companies go online and as individuals and organisations congregate online, the cost of cybercrime will continue to rise. With the use of technology theft, the risk of intellectual property theft is increasing, leading to replicate products and enormous losses for businesses.

Governments need to take more serious security measures to prevent cybercrime, or else businesses will suffer from technology. Every year, 300 billion pounds are lost due to cybercrime globally. Economic Impact of Cybercrime II, 2014, Net Losses: Estimating the Global Cost of Cybercrime

First-time buyers: New customers are constantly embarking on the journey, and new retailers are also arriving. Both have limited information and awareness, making them both accessible targets for cybercriminals.

Options for online debit/credit card payments: This has grown to be a major problem globally since fewer and fewer transactions turn out to be carefully physical only in this sense.

Addressing these Cybercrimes

By organisations and internet users working together, cybercrimes can be reduced. Governments and organisations should offer users technical assistance and safety measures to stop these crimes. Internet users must take care as well to avoid falling prey to these scams. To create a more safe and united internet, which is why eliminating these cybercriminals will require cooperation between all parties, (Amir, 2019) (Amir, 2019) expresses that the few ways listed below are how we might be able to defeat this terror;

Using several passwords for various websites would help consumers safeguard most, if not all, of their personal information. If a hacker manages to access one website, they might not be able to access another, keeping you safe.

Use Secured Sites: Using secure sites will make it more difficult for thieves to access the site and steal information, making it a very effective approach to defend yourself from such crimes.

Avoid clicking on shady emails: This technique is used by criminals to lure their victim into giving up their personal information in exchange for a lottery win or a victory at a set gambling game, then they disappear with the victim's money.

Change Passwords Often: Using the same password on a platform for an extended period of time is extremely risky. It is therefore safer to change passwords frequently.

Shop at reliable websites: Since trusted websites have a good reputation and are therefore likely to be well-secured, attacks from these criminals would be more difficult on them.

Conclusion

After conducting research on the subject, I came to the conclusion that cybercrime is substantially impeding the development of the e-commerce sector. Users are concerned about these crimes because they believe that they may become victims of cybercrime and have their money stolen by thieves.

In addition to having an impact on users, e-commerce enterprises are also negatively impacted because customers are fearful, which will cause a decline in the number of users entering the sector and result in significant financial losses. In order to safeguard the internet and make it safe for everyone to use, I do believe that governments and private cybersecurity organisations need to step in.

Not to be biased, I also believe that some progress is being made in terms of cyber security. Although there may always be some areas that want development, the internet is not as insecure as it once was. And I do think the affected organisations can quickly resolve these issues.