Answer
The main components of the security mechanism used for electronic commerce are:
i. User authentication mechanism using simple means such as normal userid/password to more complex means such as smart cards, multi-layer passwords etc.
ii. Use of secure transaction channels over encrypted virtual private networks etc. However, this may not be very effective in public e-commerce sites (i.e. B2C or C2C e-commerce facilities).
iii. Use of secure mechanisms such as secure HTTP, public key infrastructure or digital signatures to ascertain the authenticity of the transactions and their sources.
iv. Use of professional and dedicated third party certification, monitoring and control mechanism to make sure that the trust level of the transactions are high.
v. Use of robust systems to counter threats such as viruses, intrusion, hacking, man-in-the- middle attacks etc.