Full house as real estate industry embraces cyber security best practise

November 16th,2022

With notable cyber security breaches in the headlines over the past two months it is not surprising that REIWA’s Cyber Security Forum attracted a full house at Crown Burswood.

Keynote speaker Professor Andrew Woodward, Executive Dean School of Science and Director (Interim), ECU Security Research Institute said cyber security is an urgent priority for all segments of industry globally. Quoting the Australian Cyber Security Centre's latest cyber threat report, the average cost of a cyber-attack on small businesses is $39500. Business email compromise (BEC) is of greatest concern to REIWA members, with individual losses of over $1 million reported in WA.

REIWA CEO Cath Hart said she was pleased to be able to provide an informative forum to members to support them in doing everything they can to protect their clients’ information.

“Personal data is personal for a reason. People expect it to be safe and confidential. When its leaked people feel the same sense of grief and fear as when their houses are broken into,” Ms Hart said.

“Our members reached out to seek our help to support them in understanding this fast-changing issue and we are pleased to be able to engage Professor Woodward’s expertise to facilitate this.

“We are also pleased to have the support of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, the national peak body for our sector on board, so that the work we do in WA can be rolled out via REIA to other member institutes.

“Being on the front foot and self-regulating in this space is a shared objective of member institutes so we are pleased with the strong response to today’s event and look forward to delivering more support for the industry as a result of our MOU.”

REIA (Real Estate Institute of Australia) President Hayden Groves commended REIWA on taking the lead in tackling this issue on behalf of the real estate industry and highlighted the importance of industry-based leadership on the issue.

“Real estate agencies are largely small and medium businesses and they have been seeking support on how best to protect personal data. We know that industry is taking this seriously and that is why REIA has made this a priority for our agenda going forward. We’re pleased to be working with REIWA to pilot key initiatives and develop best practice guides through the partnership with ECU’s’s Security Research Institute,” said Mr Groves.