In your efforts to meet deadlines and doing all things necessary to grow your business, the last thing you’d expect is a cyberattack. For the construction industry, cybersecurity is often overlooked by most business owners thinking only bigger and known companies are targeted by hackers. But in today’s time, that is not the case anymore. With so many vulnerabilities due to the fact that most construction businesses don’t invest in cybersecurity, hackers are dying to get their hands on every single piece of your valuable data. 

 

Did you know? Among all the industries, the construction sector ranks third as the most targeted industry by hackers. In recent years, almost one out of six construction companies have reported to be victims of a ransomware attack. Now that is very alarming considering the fact that with more and more innovation, hackers would have more sophisticated forms of attack that some businesses might not recover from. 

 

 

Why the Construction Industry?

 

As organizations employ advanced technologies, cloud-based collaboration platforms, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices to streamline operations and enhance efficiency, they inadvertently create new avenues for hackers to exploit. 

 

Here are the ways hackers are sneaking in through your doors:

 

  1. Construction companies frequently lack safe firewalls or other cyberattack defenses. Consumer-grade computer systems and software do not include enough anti-virus protection to stop determined hackers.
  2. The utilization of several digital systems, programs, and communications tools distributed over numerous job sites and offices is necessary in modern construction. Executives at a company and even IT personnel might not be aware of every device utilized by the workers, let alone have all of them authorized, tested, and integrated under a single security framework. A hacker may have complete control of the assets once they enter through one of these dozen entrances.
  3. Executives of construction companies frequently believe that their data is not very valuable or important. But it’s important to you. What price would you be willing to pay to get your data back if it disappeared all of a sudden? Of course, a lot. You’ve worked hard to build your company and to keep it afloat and growing. It would be frustrating and sad that someone will just take it all from you in a snap.
  4. Working from home. When working remotely or traveling for trade shows, meetings, and other events, supervisors, estimators, and other managers sometimes take their laptops home with them. This issue has only been made worse by the work-from-home tendency associated with Covid. Possible security hazards include things like conference wifi, various cell phone providers, or even just your kids using your laptop at home.
  5. The same is true for vendors and subcontractors. They might be a backdoor source for hackers to use if they have access to your systems.
  6. Threats also include outdated operating systems, virus protection, and computers. Microsoft and Apple eventually stopped providing security updates for outdated operating systems. Cybercriminals search the internet constantly for these weaknesses. When one of these outdated machines is connected to the internet, it is quickly recognized and attacked, frequently by several hackers.

 

 

What happens to your construction business during a cyberattack?

 

There are three ways hackers who target construction companies can damage your business.

 

Ransom

The data that you need to function is locked up or removed by hackers who then demand a ransom. Every contractor is aware of how expensive work interruptions, even for a day or two, may be. Although cybersecurity experts can occasionally reduce a ransom payment, unless you’re well-prepared, you’ll still have to pay something.

 

Fraudulent Wire Transfers

A hacker who discovers a backdoor into your email or other systems will create a fake email account that closely resembles a vendor’s websites or emails. Then, using this fake/duplicate account, they might send your CFO an email alerting him or her that they are now utilizing a new bank routing number and asking them to process all future payments through that number.

 

Now, payments go into an anonymous, untraceable bank account rather than going to your vendors. Since the hackers have access to all of your company’s emails, it’s possible that they will imitate the exchanges between your real vendors and your CFO or other executives, including inquiries about the couple’s children and weekend plans, among other things. These frauds frequently go unnoticed for weeks or even months until the legitimate seller asks why his payments are being late.

 

Intellectual Property Theft

Large organizations with several patents and proprietary technology are more likely to experience this problem. The majority of contractors are consumers rather than creators of intellectual property (such as telematics and GPS machine control). A hacker might be able to access a relatively unprotected construction company system and read bid documents. But it’s improbable. 

 

The construction industry has been the target of hackers recently and you should not take this lightly. A cyberattack could not just delay operations but some sophisticated attacks have proven to shut down businesses. It is high time for you to invest in cybersecurity. Imagine having the assurance that your company’s critical data is always secure and that you won’t be a victim of a cyberattack. 

 

Here at Intelecis, we will make sure to protect your business as if it is our own. Ready to have hackers scratching their heads because they just can’t sneak their way into your business? Feel free to contact us today!