Security Controls and Systems in E-Commerce Prof. Mohamed Aly Aboul - Dahab Head of Electronic and communications Engineering Department Arab Academy for

Security Controls and Systems in E-Commerce

Prof. Mohamed Aly Aboul - DahabHead of Electronic and communications Engineering Department

Arab Academy for Science , Technology and Maritime Transport

ITU E - Commerce Conference for the Arab Region

Tunisia, May 2001

I. Introduction

– What is E - Commerce ?– Actors of E - Commerce:

– Product.– Player.– Process.

– Scope of E - Commerce:– Infrastructure.– Pillars.– Applications.

I. Introduction (Cont’d)

– Security of E - Commerce involves:

– Security control

– Security systems

II. Security Controls

1- Confidentiality.2- Access control.3- Integrity.4- Availability.5- Non repudiation.

II. Security Controls (Cont’d)

1- Confidentiality– it refers to the protection of

information from unauthorized agent or person.

– It can be guaranteed by encrypting the data.


2- Access control– There should be some sort of

control of any entity (human or computer) trying to access the E - Commerce system.

– It includes two measures : authentication and authorization.

2- Access Control (Cont’d)

– Authentication : The sender of a document must be identified precisely and without any possibility of fraud.

– Authorization: not all the users can have access rights to the E- Commerce system.


3- Integrity – It refers to protecting the data and /

or computer against any tampering [nationally or internationally).

– Measures are taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data.


4- Availability– It refers to the continuity of the

processing and the availability of information.

5- Non repudiation– It ensures that users cannot deny

actions they undertake.

III. Security Technologies

The categories of security technologies are:-

1- Platform security.2- Network security.3- Encryption and certificate

authority.

III. Security Technologies (Cont’d)

1- Platform security– It refers to security of

information contained in the computers or servers.

– The objective is to ensure that information on the platform is secured from unauthorized users or other platforms.


1- Platform security It can be done on three levels:

• User access to operating system.• User access to the database.• User access to the business applications

and internal browser.

– This can be carried out by using passwords and ID numbers at each level.


2- Network Security It refers to the security of all traffic

at the network levels.– It involves two aspects:

•the two communicating platforms should authenticate each other.

•The information has to be preserved confidentially over the network.


2- Network Security– The techniques utilized are :

a) IP security protocol.b) Point to point tunneling protocol.c) Remote authentication Dial In user

service. d) Firewalls.

2- Network Security (Cont’d)

a) IP security protocol:• The two hosts ( or platforms ) establish

a security association between them.• A sequence of bits called “key” is

added to the information packets.• Checksum operations are made on the

entire packet (including the key). These operations follow certain rules or “algorithms”.


b) Point to point tunneling protocol – It is a protocol that allows establishing a

secure channel between the two hosts then communicating the information.

c) Remote Authentication Dial In user service– It is a protocol that enables a host to

authenticate dial in users before allowing them to convert to the internet service.


d) Firewalls– These are filters that control access to

the internal network of the system.– They examine the packet contents and

accept or reject the routing, of packets based upon the contents.

– They are “hardware” components that are implemented from a combination of routers, hosts. computers, servers,……. etc.


3- Encryption and Certificate Authority– This refers to encryption of information

itself.– The encryption process needs a sequence

of bits called “key” and a mathematical process called “algorithm”.

– There are several types of encryption, namelya) Private key encryptionc) Public key encryptiond) Digital signaturee) Certificate authority

3- Encryption and Certificate Authority (Cont’d)

a) Private key encryption– Same key is used to both encrypt

and decrypt the message.– It should be known to both sides.– Difficulties are:

• message is communicated between users that have never met.

• If so many users hold the same key, it will no longer be private.


b) Public key Encryption– Two keys are used : a public key to

encrypt the message and a private key to decrypt it.

– The public key is made available to anyone who wants to send a message.

– The only way to decrypt the message is to hold a private key.


e) Digital Signature– It is used to make sure that the

message is coming from the person you think sent it.

– It is also used to make sure that the person cannot deny he or she has sent the message.

e) Digital Signature (Cont’d)

– Digital signature is done as follows:•The sender has two keys : one “private” for

encryption and the other “public” for decryption.

•The sender creates a phrase and encrypt it with his private key.

•The phrase is attached to the message and both are encrypted by a public key.

•The phrase is decrypted with a public key, if it is successfully decrypted, then the sender himself has sent it.


d) Certificate Authority (CA)– It is a third party which ensures

that no body can steel the private key and send the message.

– The role of certificate authority is done as follows:

d) Certificate Authority (Cont’d)

– Individuals (or computers) apply for “Digital Certificate” from certificate authority by sending their public key and identification information.

– Certificate authority verifies information and creates a certificate that contains the applicant public key and identifying information.

d) Certificate Authority (Cont’d)

– The Certificate Authority uses its private key to encrypt the certificate and sends it to the applicant.

– The applicant uses the Certificate Authority public key to decrypt the certificate and sends it. He will use the embedded public key to send the message.


e) Biometrics– there are seven categories of

biometrics, namely finger scanning, face recognition, hand geometry, iris and retina scanning, voice recognition, palm-print recognition, and signature recognition.

– Special hardware should be used e.g. finger print scanners and camera- based iris recognition.

IV. Conclusion

– Security is an issue of prime importance to E- Commerce.

– Security controls for E-Commerce have to be laid down.

– Security technologies can be applied on three levels: platform, network and message encryption.

References:

1) Me Garr, M.S., “ Tuning in Biometrics to Reduce E-Commerce Risk”, EC-World magazine, Feb.2000.

2) Turbin, E, et.al, “Electronic Commerce- A perspective”, Prentice Hall Inc.,2000.

3)Rajpnt,W.E., ”E-Commerce systems Architecture and Applications”, Artech House,2000.

Sender

Network

Network

DistributionSites

Receivers

Multicast Dissemination Architecture

worldwide

developing countries

merchant

Web store front

Merchant’s bank

Secure web E- commerce server

Credit card processing company

Web customer

Customer bankEC-DC Model

Electronic Commerce Applications

Stocks, Jobs, Online Banking, Procurement and Purchasing Malls, Online Marketing and Advertising ,Customer Service, Auctions, Travel, Online Publishing

People Buyers, Sellers

IntermediariesServices, IS people

and Management

Public Policy Taxes,Legal,andPrivacy IssuesFree Speech

Domain names

Technical Standards

For DocumentsSecurity. And

Network Protocols,Payments.

Organizations Partners

Competitors AssociationsGovernment

Services

InfrastructureCommon Business

Services Messaging and

Information Distribution

Interfacing

Multimedia Content and Network Publishing

Network

MANAGEMENT

Framework for ElectronicCommerce

Applications

Pillars

Infrastructure

I. Introduction( Cont’d)

Applications

Pillars

Infrastructure

Services SecurityN

etworks

InterfacingLegality

PeopleEnterprises

Standards

Info

rmat

ion

Han

dlin

g

Online Banking Purchasing

Selling

Au

ctions

Marketing

AdvertisingMalls

Stock

Excha

nge

Cus

tom

er

Ser

vice

Onl

ine

Pu

blis

hing

I. Introduction( Cont’d)