Cryptography as an Instrument in the Safety Strategy of Firms in the Era of a Numerical Economy and Electronic Money: The Need for Registering Confidence in the Reality of Electronic Transactions

Abstract:     
The growing development of new information technologies has deeply modified the firm's management in the beginning of the 21st century. The technological changes, which started recently and pushed the limits of strategic management, have undoubtedly had a considerable impact on organizations. Today, technology constitutes a big stake in the search for competitive advantage. For a number of companies, not only the access to interactivity and instantaneity, but also the possibility of widening the offer, a relation in real time with the customer and the optimization of the chain of organization value which makes possible from now on the e-commerce, represents a great opportunity. But if the attraction of e-commerce lies in its immateriality, its virtuality, its transversality and over all in its transborder character, these characteristics also form Achilles' heel. Indeed, it seems more difficult nowadays to gain the confidence of a customer through an electronic transaction than through the presence of officials in an established physical environment. In fact, the confidence of users and consumers has been for a long time a true obstacle in the development of e-commerce. This is related to the rocketing insecurity on the Net, and also with the increasing number of serious frauds and illicit activities. In this paper, we attempt to answer the following questions: What is the true nature of cryptography and what place does confidence occupy in the e-commerce today? Were the cryptographic techniques put in during last few years to eliminate the malevolent and arbitrary intrusions of certain individuals in the electronic transactions sufficient to restore the confidence of customers and to dissipate fears of the users? What kind of security strategies could protect enterprises and consumers and secure e-commerce transactions?

Keywords: Cryptography, Electronic commerce, Information technology

JEL Classification: L1, D18

working papers series