In today’s world people want everything fast. They want to finish school fast, they want to move out fast, they want to have a high paying job fast, and so forth. Unfortunately or fortunately for most people that’s not how life works. Certain things in life take time for a reason. When you go to a doctor, wouldn’t you hope that they went through years of schooling and training before mastering their field? If I found out my doctor took only a few tests and got a certificate, I would run the other way as fast as humanly possible. I believe it’s no different with technology.
Cell phones and computers have all taken years to become as useful as they are today but there are some aspects of this technology that aren’t completely fool proof just yet, such as electronic payments. Although we believe some websites to be a 100% secure, they never truly are. There’s always going to be people out in the world that are willing to take your personal information if it will benefit them in some way or another. Hackers for example commit cyber crimes all the time because they can hide behind a computer screen without leaving a single trace of their identity. These hackers are constantly looking for holes in companies’ software to take advantage of the situation and steal whatever they can.
I personally prefer to pay cash when making payments but I have succumb to making electronic payments for credit cards, SunPass, and buying gifts online. The main reason why I gave in to electronic payments is for the same reason most people do it’s fast and easy, but it’s always in the back of my mind that anyone could steal my identity and I might not know it. As a result I constantly ask myself “how can I get all my information off the internet? “ Unfortunately people can steal your personal information even if you haven’t made an electronic payment. For example during my years studying at my university I have received 2 letters in the mail informing me that my personal information might have been stolen by a hacker and that I need to put a fraud alert on all my personal accounts and check my credit reports.
In conclusion, technology dealing with electronic payments, in my opinion is not as secure or trustworthy as business like us to believe. May be in the future securing personal information while making payments will be better, but there will always be someone out there looking for new ways to steal your information.
Sources:
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2010/06/02/48763/At-least-31-of-companies-have-been-hacked.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2774477.stm
https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/11436-The-Real-Business-Impact-of-Being-Hacked.html
http://business2press.com/2011/02/07/nasdaq-directors-desk-computer-systems-hacked-confirmed/
http://www.electronicsweekly.com/Articles/2010/06/02/48763/At-least-31-of-companies-have-been-hacked.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/2774477.stm
https://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/11436-The-Real-Business-Impact-of-Being-Hacked.html
http://business2press.com/2011/02/07/nasdaq-directors-desk-computer-systems-hacked-confirmed/
2 comments:
Personally I find that Starbucks found a innovative concept that it might attract a lot of it's customers, but not me. I find that since this technology is so new it's still fragile and it's more vulnerable to security threats. I will like to see this turn out good and maybe someday we will say goodbye to our wallets.
Stephanie, I agree with you when it comes to making electronic payments. It’s a very scary situation when it comes to making any type of electronic payment over the internet. There are experienced hackers around trying to take your information the best way that they can. It’s true that technology dealing with electronic payments isn’t as secure as people are portrayed to think it is. I myself get nervous everytime I have to make a payment online because you really don’t know who can see your information and where it goes after you submit your payment, but in today’s society you kind of don’t have a choice and are forced into making your purchases online one way or another. If you think about it you’re never safe when it comes to someone accessing your information even if you haven’t exposed yourself online. There are many ways to steal your information, for instance; someone could steal your mail, you could have dropped a receipt on the floor by accident at a store that included your credit card information, and many more actions. You’ve made a great point and have further opened my eyes about this topic.
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