Biometric authentication systems for secured e-transactions in Saudi Arabia. An empirical investigation of the factors affecting users' acceptance of fingerprint authentication systems to improve online security for e-commerce and e-government websites in Saudi Arabia.

Security is becoming an increasingly important issue for business, and with it comes the need for appropriate authentication; consequently, it is becoming gradually more important to develop secure e-commerce systems. Fraud via the web, identity theft, and phishing are raising concerns for users and financial organisations. In addition, current authentication methods, like passwords, have many problems (e.g. some users write them down, they forget them, or they make them easy to hack). We can overcome these drawbacks by using biometric authentication systems. Biometric systems are being used for personal authentication in response to the rising issue of authentication and security. Biometrics provide much promise, in terms of preserving our identities without the inconvenience of carrying ID cards and/or remembering passwords. This research is important because the securing of e-commerce transactions is becoming increasingly important. Identity theft, hacking and viruses are growing threats to Internet users. As more people use the Internet, more identity theft cases are being reported. This could harm not only the users, but also the reputation of the organisations whose names are used in these illegal acts. For example, in the UK, online banking fraud doubled in 2008 compared to 2007. More users took to e-shopping and online banking, but failed to take necessary protection. For non-western cultures, the figures for web security, in 2008, illustrated that Saudi Arabia was ranked ninth worldwide for users who had been attacked over the web. The above statistics reflect the significance of information security with e-commerce systems. As with any new technology, user acceptance of the new technology is often hard to measure. In this thesis, a study of user acceptance of biometric authentication systems in e-transactions, such as online banking, within Saudi society was conducted. It examined whether Saudis are practically willing to accept this technology. This thesis focuses upon Saudi Arabia, which has developing economy. It has achieved a rapid rate of growth, and therefore makes an interesting and unique case study. From an economist¿s point of view, Saudi Arabia is the powerhouse of the Middle East. It has the leading regional economy, and, even though it is still relatively young. It has a young and rapid growing population; therefore, this makes Saudi Arabia an attractive potential market for all kinds of e-commerce applications. Having said that, with more than half of population under the age of 30 are more to be expected to take the risk of accepting new technology. For this work, 306 Saudi participants were involved in the experiments. A laboratory experiment was created that actively tested a biometric authentication system in combination with a survey. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was adopted in the first experimental phase as the theoretical basis on which to develop the iv research framework, the model has proven its efficiency as a good predictor for the biometric authentication system. Furthermore, in a second experimental phase, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) with moderating variables such as age, gender and education level was examined as a proposed conceptual framework to overcome the limitations of TAM. The aim of the study was to explore factors affecting users¿ acceptance of biometric authentication systems. The findings from Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analysis indicate that education level is a significant moderating factor, while gender and age do not record as significant. This thesis added new knowledge to this field and highlighted the importance of the perceptions of users regarding biometric security technologies. It helps determine the factors affecting the acceptance of biometric technology. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study of this issue carried out by academic and non-biased researchers in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the thesis presents security technology companies and developers of information security products with information to help in the determination of what is significant to their user base when taking into account the introduction of new secure systems and products

Design, Synthesis, and Characterization of Novel Bis-Uracil Chitosan Hydrogels Modified with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles for Boosting Their Antimicrobial Activity

A new series of hydrogels was successfully prepared by incorporating various substituted bisuracil (R-BU) linkages between chitosan Schiff’s base chains (R-BU-CsSB) and between chitosan chains (R-BU-Cs). After protection of the amino groups of chitosan by benzaldehyde, yielding chitosan Schiff’s base (CsSB), the reaction with epichlorohydrin was confined on the -OH on C6 to produce epoxy chitosan Schiff’s base (ECsSB), which was reacted with R-BU to form R-BU-CsSB hydrogels, and finally, the bioactive amino groups of chitosan were restored to obtain R-BU-Cs hydrogels. Further, some R-BU-Cs-based ZnO nanoparticle (R-BU-Cs/ZnONPs) composites were also prepared. Appropriate techniques such as elemental analysis, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX were used to verify their structures. Their inhibition potency against all the tested microbes were arranged as: ZnONPs bio-composites > R-BU-Cs hydrogels > R-BU-CsSB hydrogels > Cs. Their inhibition performance against Gram-positive bacteria was better than Gram-negative ones. Their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values decreased as a function of the negative resonance effect of the substituents in the aryl ring of R-BU linkages in the hydrogels. Compared with Vancomycin, the ZnONPs bio-composites showed superior inhibitory effects against most of the tested Gram-negative bacteria, all inspected Gram-positive ones, and all investigated fungi