E-Customer Security as a Social Value in the Sphere of Sustainability

• Main Authors: Arnold Pabian, Barbara Pabian, Beata Reformat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-12-01
• Series: Sustainability
• Subjects: sustainable development; social threats; security; e-commerce; e-customer; e-shop
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/24/10590

Customer security in the e-commerce sector is not, but should be, approached in terms of sustainability, because it is a social problem concerning more than 2 billion people worldwide and over 20 million shopping sites. New techniques and technologies are implemented in this sector not only by e-sellers, but also by cybercriminals, which significantly lowers the level of its security. The purpose of the paper is to present, on the basis of own research, the main e-commerce threats from the perspective of the customer and the seller, and to indicate the possibility of their elimination, which should contribute to sustainable development. The threats from the e-customer’s perspective were identified by considering individual phases of online purchase. In the case of e-shops, the threats were analyzed in a personnel—computer hardware—software structure. As conducted research shows, the threats for e-customers are located in three main areas: security of the means of payment, security of personal data and payment cards, and security of purchased goods. The security of the e-customer largely depends on the security of the e-store in which the purchase is made. Research has shown that e-stores are not fully secure, which mainly results from negligence and the lack of knowledge in the sphere of cybersecurity.