E-business is being embraced around the world, but while users understand the benefits of e-business, one of the issues that continually worries them is that of security. Without security, the full potential of e-business will just not be realised - and those companies that do not ensure the integrity of their networks will quickly discover this.
Maeson Maherry, General Manager of NamITrust, says one of the core issues of conducting e-business is e-security. NamITrust is the specialised enterprise security solutions provider within NamITech Limited.
A year ago, users were continually looking for the cyber equivalent of the real life signature. And it seems that legislation, in the form of the Electronic Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act has stepped up to the plate - because the digital signature is now a reality.
The real value of a digital signature lies in its persistence after a transaction has occurred and its ability to give undoubted credibility (prove absolute integrity) of the evidence of the transaction (logs, e-mails, word documents, spread sheets, etc). This can be taken further in terms of the ECT Act, which could also add the accountability to the transaction that a real world signature would have implied on a paper contract.
Maherry says one of the other major benefits is that electronic information, in the right format, is now recognised as legal in any court of law.
"Any digitally signed document, for instance, can now be used as evidence in court. So, if a person, or company, made a trade and signed for it electronically and then pulls out of the deal, the aggrieved party can actually use that digital signature as proof of the transaction entered into. That is really good news for e-commerce in this country."
Maherry says this new technology is at the heart of successful e-business. Without it consumer and business confidence will be low - which will have a debilitating impact on the take-on, and acceptance, of online trading, either from a business-to-business or a business-to-consumer point of view.
"Trust is part of business. In the traditional world people are used to handshakes and to the physical signing and storing of paper-based documents. If there is a dispute these signed documents are hauled out of storage or filing cabinets and are used to prove the details of the contract - in court, as well, if need be. The same sense of procedures and, ultimately, trust, needs to be established in the cyber world. And businesses have to ensure they follow these security procedures, for the sake of their own businesses and for the benefit of other individuals or companies."
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