Every so often in human history, a technological revolution comes along that changes how we do… well, everything. From the advent of fire to the industrial revolution to the latest, and in time most radical, revolution yet: the age of information. Our ability to collect and process information has vastly increased with the power of computing, and communication has never been faster or more effective.
This is a boon for business, as the telecommunications industry has allowed companies to do business with non-local, even global, clients and partners. Many businesses have moved to a completely online model, strictly existing in cyberspace. You would be surprised at how many e-giants are just an office tucked away in some anonymous city, a few guys in casual dress tapping away at their computers and making thousands, even millions, of dollars.
This is part of the power of the revolution in communications: we no longer have to do business in person, which allows business to thrive anywhere, even in the smallest American towns. For those small towns, this has allowed a big boost in business in their area; young residents no longer have to leave for the big city in order to make it big themselves. Instead, success can come to them.
Is Every Opportunity a Crisis?
This revolution is not without its dangers, however. Just like Alfred Nobel’s invention of dynamite and Arthur Galston’s Agent Orange, what was originally created for peaceful and productive purposes can easily be turned to nefarious ends. When you stop doing business face-to-face, who can you trust in a digital world?
Finding some semblance of security in your business dealings online can be difficult, which is why a whole industry has grown up around affording companies a measure of safety and security.
In a world where knowledge is power, your ability to confirm that you are who you say you are is vital. That is why one of the most lucrative ways to steal from someone else is through fraud. After all, so much money passes through the web, it isn’t so difficult to masquerade as one half of a financial transaction and keep the money for you.
Be Prepared
This is why it is vital to your online security to use an electronic signature. In the digital world, this is as close as you’ll get to a fingerprint in terms of confirming your identity. An online digital signature allows you to not only confirm your own identity, but when your online signature is kept safe and secure, it is much more difficult for others to pose as you.
Stealing a digital signature is still a possibility, of course, but that is something you can take stronger measures against. Every time you e-sign a document, you take the chance of that document being stolen and therefore your signature becoming compromised, but by maintain adequate security measures – like a firewall and other security software – for your computer and your web transactions, you greatly reduce the chances of a malicious hacker stealing your signature and committing fraud with it.
Of course, you could always try to do all of your transactions face-to-face, but that is going to be an impossibility soon enough. We rely on the web too much as a society, and it is far too useful a tool to toss aside. Instead, you must become savvier than those who would abuse the web to criminal ends. Thankfully, the tools are out there to help you do just that.
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Author : Michael Juba based in Pennsylvania, writes about sports, technology, health, home improvement, and travel etc,.
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