Cybersecurity and Real Estate: What Realtors Should Expect in 2019

There was a time when cybersecurity was solely a concern for finance, big businesses, and retailers. Over time, technology advancement became more prominent in almost every industry, and information grew as a commodity of value. Even in the real estate industry, up-to-date information can be extremely lucrative depending on the type of information involved.

For example, a huge list of potential consumer emails can be game-changing for a sales or realty team. Think of the essential and sensitive information such as phone numbers, location information, current addresses, and purchase history as well as credit details which are valued data that is susceptible to attack. This means that no industry is safe regarding cyber-attacks and cybersecurity.

In real estate and realty alone, these attacks can hold computer systems; misdirect wire transfers and firm hostage damaging consumer relations. Cybersecurity can significantly affect the real estate industry since most of them are not familiar with these types of attacks. Professionals in this industry are not well equipped with the necessary tools, hardware, software and training that can help control the attacks. According to the KPMG survey, almost 50% of real estate companies believe that they are not well equipped to deal with cyber-attacks.

What Realtors Need to Know About Cybersecurity for 2019?

Companies need to understand that nobody is safe, no network or system is invulnerable, and no data is free from attacks. To protect yourself and cut down on the risks, you need to have a few primary security measures such as strong passwords, limiting the sharing of accounts and implementing proper security regulations like encryption, authentication and the SSL or secure access for public transactions and connections. IT teams can handle cybersecurity for any business, but ultimately, security starts at a foundation. Here are the main attacks that realtors need to know.

• Local Attacks: Though less likely in the real estate industry, local attacks on the internal systems, hardware and software can be an issue.

• Ransomware: This type of attack locks down dataset or systems and demands compensation in return. It holds systems and data, making information recovery difficult.

• Business Email Compromise: Business email compromise and phishing are the same. The attackers pose as enterprise partners, real estate sellers or vendors and convince business personnel to provide data.

All the real estate companies should educate their real estate teams on major events and activities concerning privacy and security. Take some time to know how the systems work and what can be done to improve security.