A.G Hessami - Innovation Director, Vega Systems, UK

The fast pace of advancement of the electronic communications post war has transformed manytraditional aspects of social and technological life from the ubiquitous access to global information topersonal mobile contact with friends and family. In the commercial sector, the electronic commerce or electronic business encompass any form of commercial transaction using Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or other technologies to facilitate such exchange(Palmer,1998). Having its roots in late seventies, and spurred by a host of emerging technologies sinceits introduction, e-commerce faces a myriad of challenges and risks due to its pervasive nature.Major developments in personal (credit cards, ATMs) and business (ERP) transactions during lateseventies through to nineties have fuelled the rapid growth of the electronic business culminating inthe current explosion of the world wide web based transactions (Chaudhury, Jean-Pierre,2007).However, in view of their impersonal and pervasive nature, electronic transactions are generallysusceptible to fraud and improper use (Kelly,2005). The electronic online payment system, PayPal is on track to process more than $500 million in mobile payments in 2010. This is following dramatic growth, increasing nearly six-fold from $25 million in 2008 to $141 million in 2009. The challenge posed in these pervasive systems is beyond e-commerce concerns and gravitates towards m-Commerce, the multi channel commerce where security risks are even more pervasive. The management of Risks is regarded as a key element of good business approach and governance(Hessami,1999). Whilst many aspects of business activities entail degree of risk often left to thediscretion of the enterprise, the safety, environmental and governance issues are increasinglyscrutinized and regulated.

Strategic Approach, Risk, E-Business, Electronic Funds Transfer