Information Assurance and security (secure Online payments) Term Paper

Information Assurance and security (secure Online payments) - Term Paper Example First and foremost, my utmost gratitude to Dr. Zhixiong Chen, Professor and Director, Cyber Security at Mercy College whose sincerity and encouragement I will never forget. Dr. Chen has been my inspiration as I hurdle all the obstacles in the completion this research work; Esmeralda Guzman, Head Director of Social Workers, Head Start, for the moral support despite his just being newly appointed; Tim Coyle., Director of Software Projects at Insurance Service Office, Inc., for his patience and steadfast encouragement to complete this study; I would also like to thank my parents, two elder sisters, and elder brother. They were always supporting me and encouraging me with their best wishes; Last but not the least, my family and the one above all of us, the omnipresent God, for answering my prayers for giving me the strength to plod on despite my constitution wanting to give up and thrown in the towel, thank you so much. Abstract Online payments have been gaining greater impetus in the re cent years. Along with this fact, it has also been observed that e-commerce is also rapidly gaining huge popularity. Although the traditional modes of payments such as cash and checks are still in use, however the modern methods of payments such as online payment system has become more well-liked because of the benefits that it offers to the people. Despite numerous benefits offered by the online payment systems, it has been identified that there are certain lacuna and risks associated with the online payment systems. One such risk is related to the security and privacy of the user’s information. There are many rules and regulations that have been practiced by the regulatory bodies in various countries in order to combat such risks. It is also significant to improve the online payment system by protecting the information provided by the users in a proper manner. Introduction The demand for quick, suitable and safe payment substitutes is increasing rapidly. Along with this, th ere is an alteration in the way commerce takes place in the recent times. One of the easiest ways to identify the significance of electronic payments is to imagine a world without them. In other words, if electronic payments come to a sudden pause then in such circumstances most of the facets of commerce such as trade, travel and internet might confront terrible consequences. Although cash and checks still play a vital role in making payments, there are many problems associated with these payment options such as lack of speed and convenience. These also face issues related to safety demanded by the consumers, governments as well as businesses in today’s fast-paced and ever-dwindling world. It can be mentioned that the extensive utilization of the electronic payments along with the sophisticated network that interconnects many consumers, financial institution and merchants in the world are at the center of commerce (OECD, 2012). The significance of the electronic payments is a pparent not only in industrialized countries but in developing countries as well. There are certain costs associated with the electronic payment systems as well (OECD, 2012). One of such costs is related with interchange where a comparatively small fee is offered to the card issuers by card acquirers. It is worthy of stating that interchange comprises part of most of the expenses that issues are supposed to bear for the purpose of creating the advantage that merchants