Other Options
E-Commerce Seals of Security and Trust describes a number of industry initiatives that will help site operators (especially for
smaller sites) to meet security and privacy requirements. One such program, The WebTrust Seal Of Assurance, symbolizes that a CPA or Chartered Accountant (CA) has evaluated a business'' practices and controls to see if they''re in conformance with the WebTrust Principles and Criteria For Business-To-Consumer Electronic Commerce. Launched in late-1997, these principles embody fundamental standards for business practices, transaction integrity, and information protection. Auditors check for the following secure mechanisms on every system:
- Goods that are ordered are actually shipped
- Payment account information is quickly removed from Web Servers once entered
- Confirmation data is provided to the buyer at order completion time
- Contact data is provided to help consumers in the event of order handling or processing problems
Other services include TRUSTe and BBBOnline, although they''re more concerned with consumer privacy practices for information collection more than they''re concerned with e-commerce security itself.