December 3, 1996

There has been a lot of confusion surrounding Internet Commerce. Much has been written about how credit card information needs to be encrypted to the same standard as government top secret messages. This exaggeration has reproduced and spread like a weed through the minds of computer professionals and the public at large. It is now considered a common-knowledge fact. Outspoken computer security experts have stated that very high levels of protection are needed on the Internet... but has anyone stopped to ask why we need to encrypt a purchase of flowers or a book to the same extreme as a CIA code message? Even the highest levels of protection may end up broken in a matter of weeks by determined individuals or government agencies. Nothing is completely safe. Everyday, people hand over their credit card numbers to waiters and anonymous voices over the telephone, and think nothing of it. Under normal use, credit card information is constantly available to theft. How many millions of times a day do people mail their numbers in a brightly colored envelopes to catalog stores? It would seem that even the barest level of encryption during Internet purchases is safer than most typical credit card transactions. However, when asked, the majority of consumers do believe they need extremely high levels of protection on the Internet. In part this concern has been fueled with stories of unsavory types lurking in the shadows of the cyber highways waiting to assault the innocent. This is sensationalism, not reality. However, if a person believes the Internet is full of child-pornographers and con-men, it is only natural for that person to also feel they need extreme protection. It is the myth of the cyber-unsavory with its splashy headlines about pornography rings and hackers that is feeding the public's insecurity... but these feelings will not last as more people experience Internet Commerce and never run into the cyber-unsavory. Bright lights are the best cure for baseless fears. I am convinced that a change in opinion will be well underway in a year's time. More people will begin to use their credit cards to buy things on Internet finding that it is safer and more convenient than a drive to the store (which really could kill you).

Kevin Bohacz,
President of C:> Prompt