Software Framework for Secure Online Transactions in Academic Institutions

Abstract

The rapidly growing interconnectivity of information system and the convergence of information technology that makes more pertinent data of the educational institutions generated and transmitted in the internet, allows wide distribution of digital data. It becomes much easier to edit, modify and duplicate digital information, therefore facing many threats. As a big security and privacy issue, it becomes necessary to find appropriate protection. Universities and academic institutions in the Philippines encountered concerns about the security of its computing infrastructure and information resources; however, traditional security architectures are not effective for academic and research environments. This research aims to use a software development framework for integrating digital security requirements that is -practical and at the same time cost effective in the context of Philippine educational institutions. In this study, software gateway was developed to address the four security issues namely confidentiality, authorization, non–repudiation and integrity. Results of the study show that adopting the software gateway enables colleges, universities, and other higher educational institutions in the Philippines to provide their clients with easy access to remote-transmitted, confidential documents through internet, ensures confidentiality and integrity of the transmitted data, ensures that only authorized persons or registered users can access the data, and that non-repudiation happens during transmission.