5 Real Estate Cyber Security Tips You Need To Know

You may not think cyber security is important for your brokerage, but around 26% of all cyber attacks target real estate companies just like yours.

Research shows that the average cost of a data breach in the U.S. is around $8 million. Can you afford this kind of financial loss?

Additionally, 22% of real estate organizations have been victims of a cyber attack in the past two years. 

If you do fall victim to cyber criminals, you could face:

❌ Reputational damage.

❌ Lawsuits.

❌ Financial loss.

❌ Operational disruptions and downtime.

❌ Closings falling through.

A cyber attack leaking your client’s private data could expose them to fraud, identity theft, and financial loss.

In this article, we’ll share why real estate cyber security is important and some helpful tips to protect your brokerage from cyber risks.

Why Does the Real Estate Industry Need Cyber Security?

In 2023, real estate firm Wealth Network experienced a security breach that exposed 1.5 billion records, including property details and client financial data, in a security breach. A cyber attack exposed the addresses and purchase details of some celebrities.

In another incident, hackers stole the identity of a real estate agent and created email addresses to contact other agents. These agents were sent a link that, when clicked, downloaded software designed to steal personal information. This hacking continued for more than a year and reached almost 4,000 email recipients.

As you can see, it’s critical to take cyber security and data protection seriously if you work in the real estate industry.

Why Are Brokerages Prime Targets for Cyber Attacks?

The real estate sector deals with sensitive information. From legal documents to personal identification information like social security numbers, brokers, real estate agents, and transaction coordinators (TCs) handle private data all the time.

Leaked data finds a new home on the dark web, where cyber criminals sell it to the highest bidder. The legal costs or reputational damage of such attacks are often too much for real estate firms to bear. In fact, 60% of small businesses have to close down completely after a cyber attack. 

Data security should be a concern you take seriously in your real estate operations. You must take measures to prevent cyber risks. This ensures you don’t face the consequences of a cyber attack.

Our Top Cyber Security Tips for Real Estate Professionals

Here are some steps your brokerage can take to protect it against cyber threats: 

➡️ Use multifactor authentication (MFA)

Multifactor (MFA) is when you need multiple identifying factors to access something. Examples of identifying factors include passwords, fingerprints, or a one-time PIN (OTP).

You should ensure that any software used in your brokerage requires your team to use at least two identifying factors—known as two-factor authentication (2FA)—to access it. The same goes for wherever you have sensitive data stored, like cloud storage.

For example, if your team needs to access your customer relationship management software (CRM), they should be required to enter a password and then an OTP that has been sent to their email address.

➡️ Perform regular backups

If all your data is stolen in a data breach, it could take weeks or even months to get it back. Worse, hackers may hold this information at ransom—known as a ransomware attack—where you have to pay them to get your data back.

To better prepare your brokerage for potential cyberattacks, ensure that all your data is regularly backed up both in hard copies on your premises and digitally.

This way, if your team experiences a security breach, it will still have access to all the data it needs to do its work and avoid operational downtime.

💡 Get Monthly Backups with Paperless Pipeline We offer our customers automatic monthly backups of all their data from property transactions—each Paperless Pipeline plan includes this feature.

➡️ Implement a virtual private network (VPN)

When you’re connected to a virtual private network (VPN), all the data transmitted between your device and the internet is encrypted. Encrypted data can’t be accessed by anyone else.

Using a VPN in your brokerage is important as it ensures any online activity is secure. However, if you have employees working remotely, VPNs are even more imperative. The Wi-Fi networks that remote employees may connect to often aren’t secure. A VPN can protect them against hacking in these situations.

➡️ Do regular software updates

One way that cyber criminals hack into real estate firms is by exploiting vulnerabilities in the software they use. Exploiting a vulnerability means finding a weakness in a piece of software and using it to access your data.

Software updates often include security patches. Security patches are designed to mitigate any vulnerabilities in your software that the software provider may have identified.

Regular software updates will ensure that you have the latest security patches in place to protect your firm.

➡️ Run employee training programs

Over 80% of cyber attacks are caused by mistakes made by employees. For example, if someone on your team uses a weak password or accidentally shares their login credentials due to a social engineering attack, you could fall victim to a security breach.

💡 What Is a Social Engineering Attack? Almost 100% of cyber attacks are the result of social engineering. Social engineering is when cyber criminals exploit human error to gain access to login credentials and other data that allow them to hack into a company.

This is why it’s crucial that you spend time training your team on cyber security best practices so that they can protect themselves and your firm from cyber attacks.

Keep Your Data Safe with Paperless Pipeline

Your brokerage naturally works with a large amount of sensitive information that needs to be protected.

When you use transaction management software like Paperless Pipeline, you can rest assured that your data is safe. Not only do we offer secure backups, but your transaction data is far more secure on your paperless system than it would be in your physical real estate office.

We also prioritize data security and privacy, ensuring all your documents are stored safely and can only be accessed by the right employees.

Visit our website for a free Paperless Pipeline trial. We’ll show you just how secure your transaction data can be.