We live in a data-driven world where companies rely on digital data to run their business efficiently. Also, the risk of misuse and theft of confidential information is higher than ever. Data loss, theft, and security breach are common in the property business. Property managers are responsible for protecting the customers’ data and preventing any data breach from happening instead of mitigating attacks.
A data breach is an incident in which an unauthorized person outside the organization accesses your confidential customers’ information. Your data can be stolen, copied, deleted, and used maliciously. Even if someone from the organization gains access to the tenants’ information when this is not part of their job role, it is also an example of a data breach.
- A customer’s system is compromised by malware designed to filch credentials.
- A service is risked, and credentials are stolen and tested against some sites like social media platforms or used to access the system.
- A user is tricked and made to enter their credentials into a page that looks like a legitimate site (phishing).
- According to the Australian Cyber Security Center (ACSC), a data breach happens when:
- An automated trial-and-error on username and password combinations is carried out against a service.
Apart from stolen credentials, a data breach can also result from a simple human error. Sending a confidential email to the wrong person with an important attachment or giving higher security access to unauthorized staff can result in a data breach.
Common Data Breaches In Real Estate Businesses
A data breach involves an attack on digital data stored in the systems. Real estate agencies providing property management services, property sales, or both are typically at higher risk for data breaches as they have enormous confidential information of the customers in their portfolio. They also have confidential information, credentials, and finance-related information. For any real estate agency, the following are the common targets for a data breach:
- Agency’s financial information
- Bank account details
- Customer name
- Date of birth
- Email addresses
- Mailing addresses
- Phone number
- Social Security number
The best solution to prevent a real estate data breach is Property Management CRM Software. Property Management Software not only provides a competitive advantage to your property business, but it is also capable of consolidating all the information related to marketing, sales, and customer service into a centralized database system. All the company and customer information is stored on cloud-based servers that are enclosed. They provide defense against phishing and malware attacks.
You get so much more from a PMS in terms of data protection and privacy.
How Can REDA Property Management Software Help You Maintain Data Security?
Some outstanding features that come up with real estate CRM software to ensure security, data protection, and accessibility are:
- Selective Data Access To Users: You can monitor accessibility and control your data using REDA, which can prove helpful in terms of data protection and secured accessibility. The administrator will have complete control over deciding which users have access to which transactions and data sets. There are different authorization levels for data and pages within the user interface. A user can only see the links that the administrator has given them permission to browse and see. Even if the visitor has the exact address of a non-accessible page, they can't access it.
- Authentication: Authentication of a user’s credentials before allowing them to access data is an important security feature of a property management tool. This mechanism is tough to avoid or deactivate, making it difficult for attackers to gain entry into the database. There are several ways to enable authentication on CRM for Project Management. REDA offers two-factor authentication, a prominent technique that allows users to set up different login methods to avail of the service. Many users opt for email or text-based passwords and code. With two-factor authentication, a hacker has to locate all sets of information and then combine them to get into the database. This will be tiresome as they have to solve several permutations and combinations.
- Confidential & Monitored Data Access: Login protocols, employee access, password resets, and physical acquisition of cloud services are critical for securing data in the cloud-based Property Management Software. When your customers share their confidential information, you are responsible for keeping sensitive information confidential and safe. REDA provides encrypted data lines with customers over phone and email services using CRM Software. We also protect the data using firewalls and VPN techniques. We have also restricted the number of login attempts and session timeouts to prevent unauthorized access to customer data through employees’ devices and login credentials. We have kept a similar restriction on the customer support system based on their job responsibilities. Each service agent will have limited access to customer data. Standards have already been defined to grant permission to access customer data or outsource it to external sources, along with role-based access.
- Transaction Audits: REDA can audit any transaction on the system, including data modification of your account, thus providing an additional layer of security and protection. Any changes made to a user’s status, a field on the order screen, or a security policy can be easily logged and audited. The audit log monitors data changes, new transactions, and queries related to specific records and fields. We provide property managers with complete authority over the execution of limitations and flexibility on your security policies.
- Data Security In Offline Mode: With mobile CRM Software, users can access data even offline. But this can make their data prone to powerful attacks and breaches from hackers to control sensitive real estate information. You don’t have to worry if you are using REDA as we restrict the amount of data that users can access offline. There are certain protection protocols in place to prevent data from being accessed while offline. You can easily accomplish them with the help of strong firewall support and remote protection.
Bottomline
Innovations are desperately required in the domain of data security in property management. As CRMs are becoming an integrated part of the property sector, it is positively affecting business operations, ultimately increasing the data theft and breaches risks. If you choose fully functional and all-in-one ERP Software that covers every aspect of property management and development, then it will become easy to face the challenges of today’s market environment. REDA contains a true blend of security features mentioned above and maintains high data security standards in real estate. We offer:
- Audit logs to keep an eye on user activity
- Encryption to safeguard real estate sensitive data
- IP Based Session Management
- ISO Security conformity
- Routine data backups
- Strong password enforcement
- VAPT Compliance to get absolute security from any cyber vulnerabilities
Being a real estate business owner or property manager, we suggest you keep the encryption up-to-date and maintain a secure environment to promote a secure work atmosphere for your employees. All these things together will help you prevent security breaches or discrepancies.
