Secure Electronic Commerce: Building the Infrastructure for Digital Signatures and Encryption

This is a guide to secure business transactions, on the Internet and elsewhere, which provides comprehensive coverage of both technical and legal issues. This text covers developments in digital signatures, public-key infrastructure, EDI technical standards, and the evolving law of electronic commerce. The techniques for ensuring that electronic transactions are binding and cannot be repudiated. Starting with an introduction to the underlying technologies and inherent risks of electronic commerce, the book considers the role of computer networks, the Internet, EDI and electronic mail, as well as the problem of ensuring that electronic transactions are resistant to fraud, may be traced and are legally binding in all jurisdictions. Current security technologies are explained in detail, from a business perspective. These include cryptography, digital signatures, public keys and symmetric keys, certificates, and authentication techniques. Networking security methods such as firewalls, secure messaging protocols and secure Web protocols are also discussed in detail. The book is aimed at anyone involved in the design, management, procurement, operation, legal support, or technical support of a business system based on the exchange of electronic transactions and computer networks.