The Challenges For Data Security Faced by Firms and Their Customers Working and Trading Online

     Data security is a huge responsibility for firms which indulge in online trading. There are various ways in which security can be breached, enabling hackers to access sensitive data. A study in America, found that when a company's security is breached online, its market value drops 2.1% within 2 days of the announcement of the breach, and average loss of $1.65billion (The Effect of Internet Security Breach Announcements on Market Value: Capital Market Reactions for Breached Firms and Internet Security Developers). Credit card fraud has increased 29% in the past year, according to a report by the Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs), the fraud being via phone, mail and internet. Clearly there are several challenges faced by firms in order to keep data secure and to keep the trust of their customers. Online security is defined as, "...the protection of assets on the Internet from unauthorised access, use, alteration, or destruction". There are two types of security, physical and logical. Physical security includes guards, fireproof doors, security fences etc. Data security on the internet, obviously deals with logical security.