5 easy ways to avoid becoming a cybercrime statistic

There’s no denying that technology has been a gamechanger for property professionals, but becoming more active in the digital landscape is not without its risks.

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South Africa has been ranked 6^th in the list of countries most affected by cybercrime, according to cybersecurity company Surfshark. Thankfully, there’s plenty that you, as a property practitioner, can do to protect yourself, your clients and your business from becoming yet another cybercrime statistic.

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Here are the top five techniques recommended by Eric Lundberg of Red Shift Cybersecurity, who joined WeconnectU at our Engage 2023 event. (Watch the full recording, here.) We highly recommend using these as the foundation of your organisation’s cybersecurity strategy, and sharing them with your team as part of a cybersecurity awareness campaign.

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1. Use good passwords

Passwords are typically the first line of defence against unauthorised access to private accounts and digital information. As such, you really want to make them (and keep them) as strong and safe as possible.

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What does a strong password look like? According to Lundberg, the longer the better – preferably including various combinations of uppercase, lowercase, number and symbol characters in no obvious numerical, alphabetical or keyboard sequence.

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It’s also vitally important that you never reuse passwords across different accounts, or write them down anywhere. If you’re worried about remembering them, there are a number of virtual tools (like Google Password Manager) that can securely generate, store, update & autocomplete your passwords for you. Easy as pie.

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2. Enable multifactor authentication, where possible

Passwords are great, but when it comes to security, more barriers to entry will always be better. That’s exactly what multifactor authentication achieves, adding additional layers to your security.

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The strongest multifactor authentication combines something you know (like a password) with something you have (like a specific device with an OTP) and something you are (like facial recognition or fingerprints). Together, these create a virtually impenetrable barrier for cybercriminals.

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As a result, security experts highly recommend enabling multifactor authentication where possible – particularly for accounts, platforms or devices that hold significant amounts of valuable information.

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3. Don’t trust: verify

Today’s criminals are great at posing as legitimate services and/or service providers in order to convince you to hand over valuable information like logins or bank account details.

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Common examples include impersonating banks, debt collectors, subscription services, and even medical aids – anyone you might ordinarily consider trustworthy, with a legitimate reason to request personal information.

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Luckily, most of these scams are relatively easy to spot if you examine the email sender details and hover over any links to view the URLs they’d like you to visit. Most of these addresses are clearly not linked to the organisation in question, making it obvious that the request is not legit.

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Of course, there are scammers who present a very convincing picture. That makes it best to treat any unexpected or unconventional request with a large dose of scepticism. Most legitimate businesses will never request or redirect you to enter personal information or passwords via email. If they do, it’s best to confirm the request over the phone before doing anything.

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4. Keep your software and devices updated

Software providers like WeconnectU, and organisations like Microsoft, Apple and Google, put a lot of work into staying on top of digital threats. Software updates and security patches are regularly released to address emerging vulnerabilities and keep you and your data as safe as can be.

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In order to take advantage of these protections, however, you need to be running the latest versions of your software and operating systems. Attackers have become adept at identifying targets who haven’t updated their accounts and/or devices, and leverage known vulnerabilities in those outdated systems to gain unauthorised access.

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5. Backup as much as possible, as often as possible

The four steps above will dramatically improve your cybersecurity, but mistakes happen and it’s best to be prepared. Backups are an invaluable part of a cyber recovery strategy, enabling organisations to bounce back quickly and cost-effectively from things like viruses and ransomware.

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How much and how often you backup will depend on your business. A general rule of thumb is to ensure you are never at risk of losing enough data to critically impact operations. That could mean backing up once a week, once a day or once an hour, depending on your requirements.

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