Cybersecurity is a growing concern across all industries, and the financial and property sectors are no exception. With the increasing reliance on technology, these industries are becoming more vulnerable to cyber-attacks, which can have devastating consequences.
54% of finance and insurance firms and 47% of admin/real estate firms have identified breaches or attacks in the last 12 months
Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022
Cybercrime is now the biggest economic threat in the global economy – it’s cheap and easy to carry out and really hard to catch the people doing it. Couple that with remote working, poor cyber hygiene and a post pandemic business model for many that is tied to online trade, and you have created the perfect storm.
A successful attack will cause reputational damage, financial implications, and a massive disruption to how those in the financial and property sector operate.
A good password is one that is complex and difficult to guess, with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Such passwords are harder for hackers to crack using brute force methods, which involve trying millions of combinations of characters until they find the right one.
The below graphic represents the time to brute force a password using current technological capabilities.
It is vital that companies in the financial and property sector prioritize the use of strong passwords and implement strict password policies to ensure the security of their systems.
An ongoing issue is that the more complex the password the more difficult it is to remember - and with the general lack of uptake around password managers the NCSC guidance continues to encourage staff to use three random words as a password instead. Find out more here.
Two Step Verification (2SV) and Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) play a vital role in safeguarding your systems, accounts, and devices. They offer an extra layer of protection by utilizing two or more methods to verify your identity.
Even with strong passwords, if someone gets hold of your password, the security of your system is compromised. However, by implementing 2SV or MFA, cybercriminals cannot gain access simply by cracking your password. They would also need your fingerprint, Face ID, or your mobile phone to authorize a login attempt using a mobile authenticator app.
The following 10 steps will need to be led from the CEO and senior management team and will need to be done in conjunction with any in house or outsourced IT support.
Here at the centre, we would advise you to do three things now
Once you’re signed up you can access affordable cyber services carried out by our students which can help ID vulnerabilities and help protect your company from scammers and criminals. Contact us now to find out more.
If you are a business, charity or other organisation which is currently suffering a live cyber-attack (in progress), please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 immediately. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Please report online to Action Fraud, the UK's national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime. You can report cybercrime online at any time using the online reporting tool, which will guide you through simple questions to identify what has happened. Action Fraud advisors can also provide the help, support, and advice you need.
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