As Australia is in a state of flux dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, knowing how to stay safe is crucial. Whether you are working remotely to stay safe or are in stage four lockdown, there are ways to continue property transactions and protect your firm and your clients from cyber attacks.
Unfortunately, according to PWC’s latest report “The state of small to medium business (SMB) cyber security at a time of crisis,” 57% of small to medium businesses have experienced a cyber attack in the last 24 months (prior to March 2020). The report also found that 29% see data privacy as important because “it’s a matter of security, safety, privacy, confidentiality, sensitivity and compliance.”
PWC’s report explores the current state of cyber security across SMBs in the Asia Pacific region. PWC interviewed more than 1000 IT decision makers and business managers and saw that SMBs place an emphasis on the importance of cybersecurity awareness and education among staff and say they want tools that involve their employees in preventing cyber attacks.
If this is you, what can you do to protect yourself, your firm and your clients during these times?
Invest in Cyber Security Awareness training
Cyber security scams and hacking are unfortunately on the rise. Protecting your firm’s private information and keeping your client’s data safe goes a long way to enhancing your reputation and growing your business. To help firms of all sizes, InfoTrack has partnered with CryptoAustralia to offer complimentary Cyber Security Awareness Training.
By completing Cyber Security Awareness Training, our clients learn how to identify fraud activity, how to protect themselves from hacking attempts and learn what to do if their computer is hacked. This is especially useful during times when your workforce is remote and using different systems.
Use secure solutions to protect your property funds and reputation
It’s not uncommon to communicate account details via email and SMS. However, unsecured methods of communication like this unfortunately leave transactions vulnerable to deposit theft. The property industry has become a huge target for hackers who are intercepting communications and impersonating agents to redirect deposit funds into their own accounts. Securexchange can safeguard any important documents relating to a property transaction and the funds transfer. Securexchange is a complimentary service designed to allow lawyers, conveyancers and real estate agents to securely operate their business from anywhere in the country.
The newest feature of Securexchange allows electronic signing of important documents in a secure environment. This means you can be sure your documents are only being viewed and signed by the relevant parties. During COVID-19, electronic signatures via InfoTrack have increased 130%. Lawyers, conveyancers and real estate agents are enjoying the possibility of contactless property exchange as they have needed to reduce the number of in-person home inspections, virtual auctions and meetings due to social distancing requirements. This means they have been able to continue business as usual despite the challenges raised by more traditional methods. This begs the question; have we turned a corner in property exchange processes by going contactless? Meaning agents, lawyers and conveyancers can increase their number of property transactions simply by reducing the number of in person meetings and tours they have had to provide.
Cyber security is now more important than ever before, and it is crucial to use secure platforms especially if transactions continue to happen electronically. InfoTrack’s suite of cloud-based products have been built for lawyers and conveyancers to use anywhere, anytime ensuring their firms remain productive and efficient. To find out how you can keep your firm safe from cyber security scams, get started with InfoTrack today.
