Secure ECom framework for small-communities

Abstract

Universal reach of the web has made it possible for merchants to reach their customers, and vice versa, through what has now come to be referred as Electronic Commerce, or ecom in short. Despite admitting the new opportunities this is potent enough to create and the new perspective it brings to commerce as such, one needs to be aware of the importance of ecom security and what the impact of lack of one could be. This work aims at designing and implementing a framework for secure ecom transactions with the aim of providing an ecom interface for localized commercial transactions. We call the overarching framework that ties the merchants and customers as SmalU Communities. This requires the presence of another entity, the Service Provider, which maintains the framework and plays the role of an intermediary between the participating entities the customers and merchants. The model also allows neighbourly relations to exist among such frameworks to facilitate what we call 4nter community transactions* in order to provide a logical view to the customer that a large number of merchants are available to transact with. We have considered an offline payment system for the framework using an Electronic Check model. JAVA signed applet mechanism is used as a means to provide secure interfaces for placing orders and making payments. The design and implementation aspects are discussed along with the qualitative improvements in services the framework is capable of providing. Some of the merchant services the framework can support is outlined. Also the framework is compared with other existing/proposed ecom frameworks.