Introduction
Security to business ventures is very crucial since these ventures are prone to many crimes and risks present in the business environment. Businesses entering into the field of e-commerce should take caution on the impending risks and security threats on the internet. The cost of technology incurred by business organizations in the process of implementing security measures should be minimal to such a level that will not affect the overall profitability of the organization and its operations.
Cybercrimes usually target information regarding intellectual properties, customer information databases, businesses information systems, internet forgery, fraudulent transactions, and disposal of goods that are stolen. Surveys show that out of three million users of the World Wide Web, over one million are engaged in internet activities that are illegal (cyber-crime). Highly increasing expenditures on online security are greatly hampering the progress of e-commerce (International computer crimes, 2009). It is therefore advisable to protect Grandma Treat’s website from these possible cyber crimes, by adopting the following strategies and measures which will make it incur little costs in their implementation.
Low-Cost Strategies for Website Protection and Customer Privacy
Stephan can utilize various strategies and measures to protect Grandma’s Website at a minimal cost. Such cost-effective countermeasures against cyber-crime acts on websites are like ensuring that the website is protected with a password. The strategy will cost Stephan very little amount of money to implement and will be highly effective in providing security of the website while maintaining their customer’s privacy. Stephan can then create many usernames and passwords and supply them to the client he chooses or prefers (Password Protection, n.d).
Copyright is the basic legal protection measure to pursue which can be cost-effective to small-scale e-commerce firms if undertaken well. Stephan should implement a copyright policy, which includes features like ownership of the business prescribed by the website, copyright notice in the website, and legal registration of the website. A copyright strategy will also involve a formal registration of the website in accordance with government acts regarding the registration of e-commerce websites, whereby the charges are low for small-scale firms. After adopting this copyright strategy, Grandma’s Website will be protected from possible intrusion by unauthorized persons (website copyright, 2009).
Stephan can utilize cost-effective spyware as a technical countermeasure on website protection. Spy wares such as ‘spiders’ can be utilized to search for copies of grandma’s website pages on the internet. Moreover, Stephan can further consult website protection experts on the most current protection strategies that are cost-effective. Some website designers offer low-cost website creation and protection, as well as giving their clients free advice while up-dating their client’s websites free of charge. Stephan should involve such designers and supporters to get quality service at minimal costs (Radical Solutions, n.d). Acquiring anti-virus is another protection strategy Stephan should utilize to safeguard the grandma website as well as ensuring that information about his clients is safe. The antivirus software will safeguard the information contained in the Grandma Treats website against malicious damage and alterations by other internet users.
All the above strategies are among the cheapest website protection measures Stephan can adopt to ensure maximum security of the website’s information as well as customers’ privacy while incurring the minimal cost.
References
Definitions, Types of Computer Crimes, Anti-cyber-crime Legislation, Enforcement Agencies, International Computer Crime. (2009). Web.
Password Protection. 2009, Web.
Protecting your Website Copyright. (2009). Web.
Radical Bristol solutions. 2009, Web.