Unit 33 | P4 | P5 | P6 | Describe the actions taken to reduce risks to security whilst using the internet for different business activities

Unit 33 

P4 

Describe the actions taken to reduce risks to security whilst using the internet for different types of business activities 

Security precautions need to be taken whenever, wherever – especially online, as we are easily available to be covered by different types of viruses and malwares which could even get hold of our personal information, even including bank details, passwords, home addresses and so on.  

When using the internet for different type of business activities, we can ensure that the website is safe to use by checking the website's SSL certificate. This can be found on the left side of the URL bar. Usually it's grey, without a lock, red, with a lock crossed out or in many cases, green, with a padlock – which ties in with HTTPS (instead of HTTP), in which the "S" stands for Secure.  

 

• Setting up passwords 

• When setting up passwords, we need to ensure 2 things; it needs to be secure, and we need to be able to somehow remember it. To make sure that a password is secure, it is usually recommended that we include the following features; lower case letters, upper case letters, numbers and symbols – and that non of these are repeated, nor are they similar in any way, shape or form to either our previous password, or anything that is easily guessable (such as our birthday, house number, age, mother's name etc.). Many people struggle to remember their well-thoughtful passwords, because they are so long and hard to remember. I personally use 2 methods (or ways) to remember my passwords. One of them being, that I log into Google Chrome and save my passwords that way, and when I'm finished I log out – or, if there is no Google Chrome installed on that specific computer, I use the second method. My second method of remembering my password is that I take a picture of the screen with my smartphone, making sure that the URL is showing so I know which website this is for. These are the best 2 methods to remember your passwords in my opinion. 

• Checking emails before reading them 

• From time to time, all of us can receive "phishing" emails – and sometimes they are VERY, VERY believable. You may receive emails from hackers who would try to gain access to your payment details, using different forms and methods of creating email templates that are believable. They reproduce the exact format that Google or PayPal / eBay would use, but when you click on the link, your computer will get infected with a virus – or even multiple viruses / malwares. Sometimes I do get these type of emails too, and I do open them – but most of the time, opening these emails cannot do any harm to you; until you click any of the links provided in the email. So when I receive an email of such, I first of all check whether what is stated there could be true; for example, I have received an email from "eBay" saying that "Michael have purchased your car for £23,000", "Click here to release the payment". Now, this is so wrong in multiple ways; first of all, I don't have a car, second of all, eBay wouldn't send you an email of this, saying "Click here to release the payment". So I instantly knew not to click anything, I reported the email, blocked the email that it came from and that's it. Sometimes I do also check where this came from; these people cannot exactly reproduce or reuse the email addresses of these big companies, because there can only be 1 of a kind email address. So for example, eBay's email address would be "noreply@ebay.com", these "phishing" emails would use "no.reply@ebay.com". 

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P5 

Explain the competitive pressures on selected, contrasting business organisations to develop their use of e-business 

For P5, learners need to consider the impact of the use of the internet and the worldwide web in business and the resulting competitive forces on two different organisations. The organisations can be contrasting in terms of levels of technology used, size, sector or business purpose.  

Not so long ago, business were different. There was no internet, we couldn't share or spread the word using the forces and features of the internet, all that was available for us was leaflets, newspapers and spreading the word by mouth. Businesses are no longer dependent on their local customer base to survive, simply because (thanks to the internet) they can now have a worldwide audience, which is considered stronger than the local audience. The internet changed the customer base of businesses, as well as the way communication is formed between employers and employees.  

So the two business I have chosen for this task, is Apple and Samsung.  

• Communication 

• A business' ability to communicate with its employees, customers and associates changed dramatically when the Internet yielded new communication tools. Email and instant messaging have changed the face of business communication. According to a study conducted by the Small Business Administration, 36 percent of women business owners and 38 percent of male business owners use email very frequently, while over half of both men and women use email at least occasionally. 

• Working from home 

• Many businesses are now offering the option for their employees to work from home using office equipment provided by the company. This process, referred to as telecommuting, allows a business to decrease its overhead costs by needing less office space and using less in utilities for daily operation. According to the Suite Commute website, in 2008, 33.7 million employees telecommuted. 

• Marketing 

• With the advent of Internet marketing, a business must stay abreast of the needs of its customers. Competition is no longer localized; a business now has competition all over the world. It is imperative that a business know what its customers want and deliver it. Surveys, questionnaires, feedback forms and comments on a website can be used to monitor a business' customers' needs. 

• Advertising 

• Including the Internet in a business' advertising budget extends a business' ability to attract customers from their back yard to all four corners of the globe. Websites, banner placement and search engine optimization, also referred to as SEO, allow a business to have a presence on the web and reach millions of potential customers. 

• Working together 

• Working with other businesses and professionals is simplified with the use of the Internet. Internet seminars, also called webinars, make collaborating on projects with people all over the world as easy as logging onto a website. 

The two contrasting businesses of my choice – Apple and Samsung – have grown to a bigger audience with the use of social media, and simply dealing with their products & services online too. Not so long ago, these businesses were only selling their devices in store, which you have had to get up and walk to the store, and just pray that the handset was in stock. Sometimes people even had to travel to their nearest store! Since Apple and Samsung expanded their businesses to the online platforms, they have received much more sales and revenue, as well as the fact that they were able to build a strong audience that is not necessary local – how it was before, when neither of them had websites or social media profiles – that is all around the world.  

Apple and Samsung are considered as being the two largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, therefore they have used their competitive forces to try and push one – another out of the e-business game, in the smartphone sector. Even though Apple and Samsung are very big competitors, their smartphones cannot really be compared to one – another because they use two completely different platforms; Android and iOS.  

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P6 

Explain how the government supports the development of e-business 

• Advice the government offers would be online entrepreneurs 

• The government offers advice through their website - gov.uk - to share information with future entrepreneurs. This allows them to have a better understanding of what it takes for someone to commence in starting a business on the e-commerce business model. 

• Government support for IT skills development within the general population 

• The EU sees IT as a main contribution  for e-commerce businesses, therefore they have invested into IT to try and persuade students to take on IT courses, therefore filling in the ever expanding gaps of employment in the technology industry. 

• Financial support 

• The government values business start-ups and skills development, therefore they invest in these because they can see a potential gain for the country's GDP. Skills development has seen £1m invested into the coalition. The government has also made £300m available for small businesses. 

• Legal framework 

• E-Commerce Regulations 2002 

• These regulations are in place 'to clarify and cooperate the rules of online business throughout Europe'.  

• Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 

• This is set out to protect the buyer from products or services being miss-sold on the internet or if the products are some what faulty - like the Buyer Protection, on eBay. 

• Data Protection Act 

• This is an act that protects the buyers personal information from being shared or sold without their acceptance. 

• Infrastructure support 

• For the economy to flourish, people, goods and information must move freely. Reliable infrastructure is energy, water, transport and digital communications as well as the waste disposal networks and facilities - these are all essential to achieve this goal. Ensuring these networks are integrated and resilient, is the key.  
• Providing the best and superfast internet in Europe by 2015 – for which a total of £530m of investment has been made over the Spending Review period. 

• Infrastructure UK will play an active role in driving forward this agenda across the government. This initial phase has validated the proposition that infrastructure development can be an important driver of the UK's future growth and competitiveness and that there is real value in taking a cross-sector, integrated approach. 

• Conclusion 

• We can say that the government supports e-commerce business because they basically just believe that there is a lot of potential gains in the economy, as well as international communications by investing into infrastructures. There are questions based on why the government spends £90m every year of the tax payers' money on their current, functioning websites even though they do not make any money with them, whatsoever – but these are yet to be answered.