E-Commerce Issues

Tom Kelliher, CS 102

April 23, 2003

Introduction

In this lab, you'll examine several issues related to e-commerce. Work in groups of two.

Lab

1. Find the list of certificate authorities recognized by your browser. How many are there?

2. eBay imposes some restrictions on the items that people can sell. In particular, restrictions apply to the sale of concert tickets. Describe those restrictions.

3. Some auctions at eBay are ``Dutch'' auctions. What is a Dutch auction? Explain how it differs from a regular auction and describe how it works.

4. Find a current estimate for how much hacker attacks are costing the global economy. (Hint: Visit http://www.ecommercetimes.com/ and conduct a site search.)

5. Can companies buy insurance to cover losses in the event of a hacker attack? Explain your answer. (Hint: See previous hint.)

6. Research the Cyber Security Enhancement Act of 2002 and summarize its major points.