Security and Proptech - All you need to know [2024]

PropTech is any type of technology that assists the property industry. It includes the ConTech industry, which assists the construction part of the real estate sector, the FinTech industry which includes the financial part involved in the real estate sector, and so on.

The PropTech industry has grown tremendously over the last few years with its technological innovations rendering huge support in streamlining the property or real estate processes.

With the increased penetration of technology in the property industry the threat for security has also increased. Unique, complex, regulatory, and legal changes have risen so far and appropriate measures must be taken to prevent all kinds of untoward security breaches in the future.

Common Security Risks in PropTech

Some of the common security risks faced by technology employed in the property or real-estate industry include:

• Breach of building management systems
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• Point of sale system attack
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• Exploiting heating ventilation and air conditioning systems 
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• Power grid cyberattack
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• Attacking the supply chain to halt the operation
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• Ransomware attacks to seize control of computer networks
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• Phishing attacks to gather sensitive information
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• Data theft
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• Vulnerability of interconnected systems to hacking

Security Solutions for PropTech

• Strong Passwords: Use unique and strong passwords across all your PropTech tools. 
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• Antivirus Software: Run antivirus software to eradicate viruses that could distort and destroy data, and slow down your systems.
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• Updated Software: Use updated software, firmware, and operating systems to prevent hackers from exploiting any pre-found vulnerabilities in the system. 
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• Secure Wi-fi: Avoid using public and unsecured wi-fi services. Use a secure wi-fi network under a WPA2-encrypted protocol and protected under a strong password.
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• Guest Network: Use a separate network for providing guest wi-fi to prevent potential breaches.
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• Multi-Factor Authentication: Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) technology demands a second verification code, fingerprint, answering a secret question, and many other security checks that strengthen the technology from any breach.
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• Data Backups: Back up your property-related data in a secure local drive or cloud storage to prevent data loss due to cyber attacks or device failure.
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• Access Control: Restrict user permissions and grant access only for required data and features to prevent exploitation of data or other resources.
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• Phishing Awareness: Clicking on malicious links and revealing login credentials is possible via phishing emails and other scams. So be educated and stay aware of phishing scams to escape them.

Benefits of Integrating Security in PropTech

The benefits of integrating security in PropTech yields a manifold of benefits along with the peace of mind of knowing that your technology and systems are free from vulnerabilities and are safe and secure for protecting your properties.

Some of the other benefits of integrating security in PropTech include:

• Restricts unauthorized access
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• Keeps your data safe
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• Safeguards from malware and viruses
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• Prevents exposure to scams
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• Prevents costly repairs of technological components
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• Enables smooth functioning of the technology and systems

The Future of Security and Proptech

To address cyber security, privacy, intellectual property, and liability issues in the technologies employed by the property industry stringent laws and advanced security systems would have to be implemented.

The laws ruling the practices of e-signatures must be designed and updated to prevent any kind of data breaches and privacy and intellectual property theft.

PropTech has to evolve with integrated security systems in its technological tools to strengthen the security of property technologies in the future.

Conclusion

Incorporating security systems into the technologies we use today is more important than ever and the PropTech industry is also no exception.

Safeguarding client data and business process information is crucial in the property industry as the field handles sensitive private information.

Thus secure PropTech systems will ensure the industry's growth even more in the upcoming years.

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