The Financial Services in the Field of E-Commerce - Literature review Example

? work Research Proposal LITERATURE REVIEW Prepare a Literature Review on a topic of interest in Accounting and Finance. The Literature Review should include reference to academic journals in the area of Accounting & Finance and provide the context in which your proposed research is situated. Evidence of synthesis and critical discussion should be demonstrated as should any gaps in the literature in your chosen field of research. Your proposal should include a working title and a brief discussion of the areas which you wish to research. Your work must be related to a specific subject area as highlighted on the “Indicative Project Proposal Form”. Please note that blue instructions (in italics) should be deleted and replaced by the appropriate entries. The word guides are a maximum. The proposal should include a list of references and a timescale plan. 1. Proposed Title Give a clear and succinct title, indicating the problem area around which the research will be undertaken. To identify the issues in electronic banking transactions 2. Background or Rationale of the Project Include a description of the background to your project. Explain why you have chosen the topic - give both academic and personal reasons. Answer the following questions: Why do you feel this research project is necessary? Such a project is necessary to gather more insight in the topic of internet banking as a whole and particularly in the security issues related to the e-transactions. What is the problem or issue that needs sorting out? The financial services in the field of electronic commerce are rapidly advancing with Internet banking being in the forefront of it requiring many developments and implementations regarding a comprehensive security practices. For the field of Internet banking, the real issue is regarding the security which is hampering this field as effect methods are still not in place that can provide the users of Internet banking an authenticate and remote environment. This has given rise to the possibility of cloning the identities of the Internet banking user which arises the issue of procedures and practices that could minimize this issue. Why are you interested in the project? What has aroused your curiosity? Given the present scenario of the advanced technologies been used in setting up security requirements placed by the regional, national and global Internet banking system, still users are not confident enough to carry out e-banking transactions. If this is the case, then the question arises that why is Internet banking becoming more and more popular amongst the users if security issues lie within the system of Internet banking. This curiosity and interest has given me a direction to further my research in the issues of security in Internet banking transactions. How will your project add new knowledge to the field? Since not much research has been conducted in this field, particularly in creation of secure pathways for transactions, the security framework recommended in this research can provide a direction for present and future framework for secured Internet banking transactions. Max. 250 words 3. Preliminary Review of the Literature Give a brief critical review of the literature within your topic area and justify the need for your research. Don’t forget to give a list of key references used (a minimum of 6) - use the Harvard Referencing Style. Answer the following questions: What research has already been carried out on your topic area? Many different researches have been carried out on the topic where different authors have discussed the security issues as well as provided frameworks for security practices. This topic is popular because of the growing impact of Internet on all businesses particularly in the banking industry where services are now provided online for the convenience of the customers. According to Jamwal and Padha (2009), Online Banking Association conducted a survey where security was rated the top issue in online banking by the member institutions. According to Zin and Yunos (2005), the security issues in Internet banking transaction is more of an active threat rather than a passive one. In the beginning, security issues included passive threats such as shoulder surfing, password guessing and dumpster diving (Zin and Yunos, 2005). Now-a-days the active issues include Trojan threat where the attacker can use key logger programs on a user’s computer without their knowledge when a user visits certain websites and this program is installed in their computers. After that if the user logs in their bank’s website, the information keyed during that visit is sent to the attacker through which the attacker can make false transactions (Zin and Yunos, 2005). Other security issues include cloning of identities, hacking into a person’s banking information and so on. For instance, a UK bank EGG experienced customer impersonation in which different accounts were opened using the information gained from different public sources; and the Cash Management System at Citibank was hacked by Russian programmer having access to over $400,000 (Haque et al.2009). According to Suh and Han (2003), many different methods are in place for the security of Internet transactions such as authentication, confidentiality, data integrity, nonrepudiation and privacy protection. Haque, Ismail and Daraz (2009) also validate that security frameworks are built on the system of authentication, protection, verification and encryption. How was the research carried out? What research methods had been used? Briefly comment on the currency, validity and reliability of the literature. Different researchers have used different research methods according to their scope of research and availability of data. Qualitative research method and quantitative research method were the most preferred methods where the researchers had could gather statistical information as well as population opinion on the security issues in Internet banking. For example, Jamwal and Padha (2009) used the qualitative research method to gather information from different banks in India to understand the trend of security issues in Internet banking to achieve statistical results which can be linked to the secondary sources of data such as periodicals, journals, books and so on. Other authors such as Haque, Ismail and Daraz (2009) have used factor analysis method (empirical research) to prove statistical relationships between different variables. Since these research methods were carried out in a particular environment and country, the external validity can be increased if it is applied in different environment. The literature review is taken from different sources and authors which in itself is reliable. The reliability and validity of the researches been carried out have been testified by the researches that have taken place after a particular research in the same topic. What are the key findings/results reported in the previous research? The findings of the previous research indicate that Internet banking service providers should be more responsive toward requirements of security since Internet banking transaction need layered protection against many levels of threats and issues (Ahamed, Rubendran and Ansari, 2011). According to the findings of Zin and Yunos (2005), a dual security is required to protect online Internet banking users against fraud which can be achieved through layers of firewalls, encryption, filtering routers and digital certifications to protect against unauthorized access. Haque et al. (2009) further found that banks need to invest in security technology research so that innovative techniques and practices could be implemented for security purposes. The findings of Singh and Beekhuyzen (2006) show the people as being less concerned for the security issues if they trusted a bank. The findings of Haque, Ismail and Daraz (2009) show the security concerns of the users and their perception about it affects the transactions over Internet banking although with enough education about security measures taken by any bank can increase the transactions. What different opinions have emerged from different authors? Have you identified any areas of controversy in the literature? According to Suh and Han (2003), the risks of the security are not the top most priority since the users do not fully understand the security technologies of the banking transactions. They do not which controls are in place for security purposes and therefore they only perceive a website to be secured through the amount of publicized information. It is argued by Suh and Han (2003) that emphasis should be placed on perceptions of security control rather than security control. Given the discussion about encryption by Suh and Han (2003), it is argued by Ahamed, Rubendran and Ansari (2011) that these security features do not fully guarantee a secure system although they are a necessity for its building. What gaps in knowledge have you identified? Which specific area has still not been covered by previous research? Given the preliminary review of literature, it has been identified that although minimum security standards are in place in the banking industry, still much work has to be done as no formal processes are in place for determining the level of security threats and protection against them. Authors have talked about what needs to be done but have not provided the framework for achieving those needs which is very important in the fast growing Internet banking transactions. This gap in knowledge will be discussed in this research relying on the available information on this topic. Have the authors made any recommendation for future research that you could consider for the project? The recommendations made by the authors depends on their area of security issue research which can be most of which can be considered for the current project. For example, Zin and Yunos (2005) have recommended that analysis should be undertaken in the hardware and software that is used in the banking industry to which is the most initial step to minimizing the risks in Internet banking. Education of the public and publicity on mass media are suggested techniques by Suh and Han (2003) to create awareness about the security issues and what measures can be undertaken by the public to ensure their information safety. In addition to this, it is also advised that certain mechanisms should be in place of allow verification and double-checking of bank customers’ authenticity such as calling them or providing different pins after a certain period of time (Haque, Ismail and Daraz, 2009). The research of Ahamed, Rubendran and Ansari (2011) on Secure Electronic Payment Protocol can provide basis for further research in this project as it is one of the secured systems of transactions being implemented today by MasterCard in cooperation with IBM. Another technology that can provide research basis is the Secure Electronic Transaction which involves the technology designed specifically for the authentication during the Internet banking transactions (Ahamed, Rubendran and Ansari, 2011). Singh and Beekhuyzen (2006) have provided a platform for user-centred approach to security system although this thinking is still in its initial stages. This is one dimension that can be further explored in this research project. What is the justification for your research? What have not been adequately covered by previous research? Internet banking is the latest and most advanced technology in the world of Internet where a new dimension has been added to the banking transactions which has opened up the doors for customers to conduct transactions online. According to Haque, Ismail and Daraz (2005), people except data integrity and confidentiality in conducting online transactions which has caused great concerns for the network security. Many different and wide-ranging researches have been carried out on the topic of Internet banking but each research addresses only a particular issue and particular variable. In addition to this, according to Schaechter (2002) very little data is available on the e-banking transactions because of lack of requirements of reporting. As already mentioned the popularity of the Internet banking transactions, research has now been carried out on the issues related to it particularly the security threats. Although banks have placed a great importance on this aspect and many security frameworks have been developed, it has come to notice that researches have mostly been carried out on the what, why, when and where of the security issues in Internet banking transactions. Only certain numerable researches have been carried out on providing the answer to how to minimize the security issues. Therefore, this research will aim in answering the question of how so that it can be effectively implemented and used by the banking industry as well as provide a platform for any future research that might be conducted on these lines. Have you cited all sources of references correctly using the Harvard Referencing Style? For the purpose of this preliminary literature review a total of eight references have been used which belong to academic journals, internet sources and other academic literature. The references have been correctly used under the Harvard Referencing Style. Have you covered a majority of key articles including the most recent studies (e.g. last 5 years)? The articles and reviews have been taken from different sources which date between 2000 and 2010. In other words, the literature review covers the recent developments and statistics that might have occurred in the last five years from the time of undertaking this research. Since the topic is broad, many articles still remain which will be discussed in the research report. Max. 1500 words Ahamed, S., Kubendran, V. and Ansari, M. 2011. Transaction based Security Issues and Pathways to Effective Electronic commerce: from Tactics to Strategy. International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology Vol.3 (2). Pg 1304-1310 Haque, A., Ismail, A. and Daraz, H. 2009. Issues of E-banking transactions: An Empirical investigation on Malaysian Customer Perception. Journal of Applied Sciences Vol.9 (10) pg 1870-1879 Haque, A., Tarofder, A., Rahman, S. and Raquib, M. 2009. Electronic Transaction of Internet Banking and its Perception of Malaysian online Customers. African Journal of Business Management Vol.3(6) pg 248-259. Jamwal, D. and Padha, D. 2009. Internet Banking Systems in India: Analysis of Security Issues. Proceedings of the 3rd National Conference; INDIACom-2009 Computing For Nation Development, February 26 – 27, 2009 Schaechter, A. 2002. Issues in Electronic Banking: An Overview. IMF Policy Discussion Paper. Singh, S. and Beekhuyzen, J. 2006. The Bank and I: Users’ Perceptions of the Security of Internet Banking. Paper presented to Internet Research 7.0: Internet Convergences, Brisbane. Suh, B. and Han, I. 2003. The impact of Customer Trust and Perception of Security Control on the Acceptance of Electronic Commerce. International Journal of Electronic Commerce Vol.7 (3) pg 135-161 Zin, A. and Yunos, Z. 2005. How to Make Online Banking Secure. The Stare InTech. Read More