Flinders University recently released a report showing “A third of Australians have been the targets of cyber crime” at least once in their lives.”
The study polled approximately 12,000 Australians, and found that roughly 2.8 million Australians had been impacted by this type of attack within the past year, and nearly 6.7 million Australian adults could have been victims at any time in the past. The impact has resulted in $3.5bn of ‘pure cyber crime’.
Unfortunately, victims are rarely able to recover financial losses resulting from cyber crime. The Flinders University study defines ‘pure cyber crime’ as activities that include hacking, spreading viruses and other malware, and attacks that shut down a machine or network.
Data breaches resulting from ransomware attacks are rife at the moment. With staff working remotely, the risks are higher than ever. Recently, storage provider Cloudian found that 49% of those who’ve experienced attacks had perimeter defenses in place at the time, but ransomware still penetrated. This highlights the need to not just have technology options in place but to also educate your people about the risks and what to look out for.
Lee Bailie, Head of Securexchange, compared cyber security to protecting your own home. “If you’ve got a cybersecurity culture and people are actually aware of that then it can lead to the processes being improved and you know it’s a simple analogy but I often look at it it’s like protecting your own home. Most people have a front door with a lock on it but if you really want to deter criminals put a security screen in place if you want or a burglary system, have a dog in your yard. You’re building on top of that security and cyber security is very similar.”
If you’re worried about cyber crime, there are solutions to protect yourself, your clients and your personal data from attack.
InfoTrack has partnered with CryptoAustralia to offer our clients complimentary Cyber Security Awareness Training. The training consists of two 30-minute online presentation modules. To complete the online training and receive certification, both training videos must be watched and the quiz for each section, completed.
By completing Cyber Security Awareness Training, you and your staff can learn more about how to identify fraud activity, how to protect yourself from hacking attempts and what to do if your computer is hacked.
For 1 CPD unit, the training can be completed anywhere at any time and covers:
- What is payment redirection fraud?
- How does payment redirection fraud work?
- How to tell if you have been hacked
- What to do if you get hacked
- What to ask your IT provider
- Cyber insurance
To assist even further, InfoTrack has developed a Cyber Security Checklist that covers who in your firm needs training and what to do if you think your firm has been the victim of a cyber attack. The checklist is available for download or can be sourced on our Cyber Security Awareness Training homepage.
Once you know what to look out for with a cyber attack and how to prevent your firm from being the victim or target of such sinister actions, the rest of your firm should too. Hackers take advantage of weak links and training your staff in a sure-fire way to strengthen your security.
If your firm focuses on conveyancing matters, you may find it interesting that cyber criminals are increasingly targeting property transactions. Cyber criminals follow the money, and in doing so aim to capture personal details. In the sale of a property, bank details, personal details and large money transactions are shared between property professionals and individuals. It is not uncommon for these details to exchange hands multiple times – each time providing an opportunity for a cybercriminal to intercept an email, impersonate a party or change bank account details.
Securexchange, which has won multiple business awards, is a complimentary service that offers a secure platform where all parties can safely share and receive confidential and sensitive information. A lawyer, conveyancer or real estate agent can invite their client into a secure workspace where they are able to securely share trust account details to pay a deposit, request bank details to pay funds to the consumer’s bank account, digitally sign documents and contracts of sale to exchange or complete on a property transaction.
Cyber security is now more important than ever before, and it is crucial to use secure platforms and technologies to protect yourself, your clients and your firm. Cyber security scams and hacking are unfortunately on the rise, so this type of protection goes a long way to enhancing your reputation and growing your business. InfoTrack’s suite of cloud-based products have been built for lawyers and conveyancers to use anywhere, at any time, ensuring their firms remain productive and efficient. To find out how you can keep your firm safe from hacking, get started with InfoTrack today.
