Cybersecurity for Real Estate Professionals
In an increasingly digital world, cybersecurity has become a paramount concern for real estate professionals. 2023 saw a 72% increase in data breaches since 2021, which held the previous all-time record. With the rise of cyber threats such as wire fraud and email hacking, it's essential for professionals in the industry to implement security measures to protect their clients' sensitive information.
How can real estate professionals prevent cybersecurity breaches?
There are ways for real estate professionals to take proactive steps to prevent cybersecurity breaches and safeguard their clients' data.
- Identify and Protect Digital Assets: Recognizing and securing sensitive client information is crucial. By implementing plans to protect this data, professionals can mitigate the risk of unauthorized access and exploitation by hackers.
- Implement Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Adding an extra layer of protection to email accounts, social media accounts and other platforms through Two Factor Authentication can mitigate the risk of unauthorized access, even if passwords are compromised. Yes, it will be annoying to need a code every time you sign into Facebook, LinkedIn or Google from another device, but this will help significantly protect any sensitive information. Take a look at this guide to setting up Two Factor Authentication.
- Use a Proprietary Email Accounts: Opting for proprietary email accounts with the company's domain name reduces the likelihood of impersonation and phishing attempts by hackers. If your brokerage doesn’t offer this as an option for you or you don’t wish to use your brokerage's email, you have the ability to set one up yourself. The good news is it doesn’t take too long or break the bank. So, instead of having @gmail.com or @outlook.com, you can create an email with @ your company's domain.
- Educate Clients: Real estate professionals should educate clients about cyber risks and provide them with preventive measures to ensure their security throughout the transaction process. By raising awareness and sharing best practices, professionals can empower clients to protect themselves against cyber threats.
- Employee Education and Training: Regular training sessions should be held between your team and brokerage to educate employees about cybersecurity threats and best practices. By ensuring that all team members are aware of potential risks and equipped with the knowledge to mitigate them, organizations can strengthen their overall cybersecurity posture.
Email and Password Protection
Email and password protection are critical components of cybersecurity for real estate professionals and their clients. Everyone has heard of someone's Facebook page getting hacked or someone clicking a link that ended up being a scam. Here are ways to ensure that these issues don’t happen to you.
- Email Hygiene: First things first, always proceed with caution when handling emails. Avoid clicking on unknown attachments or links that could potentially contain malware. Additionally, encrypted email platforms or document-sharing programs should be utilized for sharing sensitive information securely. The good news is, OnSight eSign (LINK TO info on OnSight ESIGN) has built in protection to ensure any personal or signed documents are protected.
- Password Management: There are two things you want to note when it comes to password management. Number 1 is to ensure you are using strong, complex passwords for all of your accounts. The second thing is to avoid password reuse. It’s very tempting to just use the same password across all your accounts but to ensure you are as protected as possible, come up with original strong passwords to use for each new platform. Implementing two-factor authentication also adds an extra layer of security to email accounts, social media accounts, and other platforms, mitigating the risk of unauthorized access.
Cybersecurity is now more than ever of the utmost importance for real estate professionals. By implementing preventive measures such as identifying and protecting digital assets, strengthening password security, and educating clients and employees about cyber risks, professionals can enhance security and safeguard against potential breaches. It doesn’t hurt to speak with an IT professional to get other tips to ensure you are as protected as possible. Continuously educate yourself to protect you from any breeches in the future.
