Cybersecurity is an important consideration for almost every industry nowadays. With most data being stored and transactions occurring digitally, it’s important for every business to protect the financial information and other digitized documents that are in their control. But for those in the real estate industry, improved cybersecurity is of vital importance. Why? Keep reading to learn more about why IT services for real estate in Orlando, FL, are so important.
Large Money Transfers
The real estate industry handles 6-figure money transfers as a normal part of day-to-day business—and cybercriminals know it. Between 2017 and 2018, cyberattacks on the real estate industry increased by 136%, and over $12 billion were mistakenly sent to cyber thieves via wire transfers in that 2-year period.
Most commonly, criminals will impersonate the person expecting the large wire transfer (usually someone working with the seller) and will provide faulty bank account information. The funds for the home purchase are then sent to the criminal, and they disappear with the money before the crime is discovered. Increased cybersecurity can detect and prevent these kinds of attacks against your real estate business, saving you from serious business losses—and a lot of headaches.
Low Security Standards
Unfortunately, many people in the real estate business don’t realize what a high-value target they are to hackers and cybercriminals. Real estate agents often use their personal email accounts to conduct business, which means security is very low on the sensitive data that clients are sending to them. Weak passwords, unsecured Wi-Fi connections, and other lax security standards make real estate an easy target.
While many other industries have had years to adapt to the growing threat of cybercriminals, real estate is only recently beginning to suffer from these crimes. It’s important for those in the real estate industry to start acting now and increase their security procedures for all forms of digital communication, document storage, and financial transactions.
Your Reputation Is Everything
Finally, it’s important to consider how a serious loss at the hands of a cybercriminal would impact your business. For most people in the real estate industry, their reputation is the foundation of their business. If a client’s information is deleted or the wire transfer is stolen by a hacker, others are far less likely to trust you with their own data and transactions in the future. You will lose business quite quickly once word spreads that you don’t have adequate security to protect your clients from these situations.
Whether you’re a real estate agent, broker, or hold some other position in the real estate industry, it’s extremely important that you have the right security measures in place to prevent cyberattacks against your business and your clients. Contact the Millennium Technology Group for IT support for real estate in Orlando, FL, and we can tell you more about the techniques we use and the steps we can take to protect you from cybercriminals.