The Virtual Transaction.

In the rush to exploit opportunities in e-commerce, businesses sometimes overlook the risks associated with virtual transactions. Especially critical is the security of servers where credit card data is stored.

Until December 1999, no one really gave credit card transactions via the Internet much thought. Consumers' initial fear of passing their credit card information through cyberspace had, for the most part, been replaced with confidence in online shopping capabilities.

That all changed last year. One of the larger online retailers, CD Universe, was attac