In order to defend an E-Commerce site from cyber-attacks, a variety of measures can be taken. Firstly, a firewall could be put in place, which means that only certain connections are allowed in and out of a server. Effectively, this means that certain malicious connections can be barred entry, meaning that the server can still perform effectively even whilst under attack. However, having a firewall can cause performance issues for the site, as every single attempted connection has to be checked against a blacklist, which can have a negative effect on just innocent visitors to the website. This can be overcome through a more effective firewalling service, although this can be expensive. Additionally, an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) could also be utilized in order to increase website security. A SSL acts as a secure method to transfer information, such as bank account details, between two systems. This is important in overcoming the security issue of identity theft, as these sensitive pieces of data cannot be intercepted in between the source system and the target system. This also means that customers are more likely to trust a website that makes use of the SSL system. Furthermore, HTTPS be used on top of other security features. HTTPS (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure) encrypts any information shared between two systems, and can only be decrypted by the intended system through a prearranged security key. This security system helps to overcome security issues as it means that only the two networks can read the information that is transferred, meaning that the information cannot be intercepted midway by a hacker. Another common form of internet security is an RSA certificate. This common form of security is often built in to many different internet browsers, such as Internet Explorer. In layman’s terms, a RSA certificate is a small piece of data sent by a website in order to demonstrate authenticity. This helps to overcome the security issue of Phishing, as illegitimate websites cannot gain this certificate, meaning sites that hold this certificate have been confirmed by a trustworthy source to be legitimate. This overcomes phishing as users can check to ensure that the website is owned and operated by who it says it is by, increasing security. One of the best ways of overcoming poor security in an e-commerce site, from the average user’s point of view, is through having a strong password. By having a strong password, users make it almost impossible for a hacker to simply guess their passwords, therefore keeping the user’s account safe. Finally, an e-commerce site could decide to use alternative authentication methods, such as fingerprint scanners and face recognition in order to confirm that the user is who they say they are. This is great at overcoming one of the biggest security issue in e-commerce; identity fraud. This is overcome because it is almost impossible to fake physical items, especially with the detail found in fingerprints. This means that these sorts of alternative methods can help hugely in protecting an account, although at the cost of convenience, as scanning every time you want to enter your account can take time and equipment.

GameStop, a US based video game retailer, is a fantastic example of a ‘brick and click’ organisation. The name ‘brick and click’ stems from the company both selling items in the physical world, in physical stores (brick), whilst also offering products and services online through an e-commerce system (click). GameStop uses e-commerce to sell a variety of products and services based around video games. Obviously it sells, video games for a large variety of different platforms, but it also sells the associated hardware (consoles, peripherals and such), as well as collectable toys and statues of various video game characters and objects. One notable e-commerce feature that GameStop uses is a site membership. Although entirely optional, the membership offers a variety of