REALTORS® are among the most tantalizing targets for cyber criminals. As trusted advisors who handle sensitive information scammers value, like banking information and personal data, it’s critical you’re vigilant when it comes to safeguarding your clients’ personal information.

With that in mind, we recently hosted a free cyber security event featuring data security specialist Steve Chapelle: 

• Steve's provided information privacy and security education to Canadian organizations since 2006. 
• Before that, he spent over 20 years in information technology management within the financial services sector, with a focus on information analysis and customer service.

Here are the key takeaways Steve wants you to know.

Social media corporations exist to continuously harvest data on their users to use as they see fit. Many of these platforms include fine print that waives your rights to the legal and constitutional rights to privacy for the content you post, typically enacted when you tick a box within the terms of service when you sign up. You must agree to waive your rights, or you cannot use the platform.

When used properly as a tool for your business, social media is one of the most effective marketing and advertising platforms you’ll find. Steve stresses:

• Use social media only for its intended purpose, which is to let potential clients know about the service you provide. 
• Never post personal information on your business page.
• Limit the information you share on your personal social media accounts.
  

Realtors should use virtual private networks (VPNs), especially given the volume of sensitive personal information you collect and transmit every day. VPNs provide the safest possible connection to the internet, especially when you connect to a public wifi source. Making an unsecure connection to a public wifi source without using a VPN exposes all the data on your device to potential cybercriminals.

Another important tool Realtors should use is encryption. Most email services don’t encrypt the messages you send. If your message is intercepted, a criminal could read the content and extract the attachments.

End-to-end encryption services are the safest method, and there are free email services like ProtonMail you can use to encrypt your emails. You should also encrypt the documents sent via email which can be done using free services like Zarchiver. This lets you create an encryption key, which is essentially a password for the document, that you can then securely share with your clients.

Here are a few other tips to always keep in mind:

• Keep strong passwords of at least 12 characters, including at least one number and at least one special character. They should be easy to remember, difficult to guess, and not about you. 
• Configure the privacy settings on your accounts to ‘friends-only’ or an equivalent setting. 
• Be vigilant about reviewing the communications you receive for giveaways - they could be phishing attempts or contain malicious links or attachments. Be particularly vigilant when reviewing new contact requests.  

Review a PDF of Steve Chapelle’s key privacy and data security takeaways.