By Jack Day
If you’ve spent any time using the web, you’ve probably seen and heard about the various cybersecurity software available commercially. But what you may not be aware of is why cybersecurity is such an important tool for digital businesses.
While the digital world is no longer the uncharted land it once was, the criminals lurking inside it are still active and have methods to deceive you. From phishing scams and malware to elaborate social engineering schemes, digital criminals are constantly adapting and looking for their next target.
Whether you’re involved in property typing or any other profession, digital safety is one of the central pillars of digital businesses.
The risks that come with cyber attacks and data breaches are manifold. Perfectly good people have been misled and deceived by scammers in various forms. Victims of cybercrime can not only have their finances stolen, but even have their whole identities taken by impersonators who may implicate them in nefarious acts.
Proving you’ve been defrauded or impersonated in a court of law can be a very difficult process that can potentially involve expensive legal fees. Hence, it is much easier and safer to avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime in the first place.
These problems can prove an even bigger issue for businesses to deal with. While the primary risk posed to victims is immediate financial loss, money can be taken from the business and the service disruption caused by an attack can prevent the business from serving customers. There are also the major consequences of both reputational damage and potential regulatory fines. Companies that fail to meet their data security obligations can face significant financial penalties and potentially become the target of regulatory investigation.
Beyond the immediate financial repercussions, the credibility of a business can be seriously affected by a data breach. Companies known to be vulnerable to cybercrime or that aren’t seen to take digital security seriously will likely damage their reputation and could experience a major decline in customers. If a business is not considered trustworthy with important information, the consumer will be forced to take their money elsewhere. Eventually this decline could result in your business collapsing, as the trust of consumers can be difficult to regain.
There are numerous ways to maintain digital security. One of the primary methods is keeping your antivirus and anti-malware protection software up to date. Hackers regularly upgrade their toolkits and so it’s important for your defences to be updated accordingly.
It is also highly recommended to use strong passwords and multi-factor authentication, back up important data and limit access to it before securely deleting it once there is no longer a need to retain it. These are the main steps to prevent data from being compromised and the negative results that can follow.
Technology itself continues to change the way property professionals work. We have previously looked at this in our article on Speech-to-Text in Surveying Right Now and Where It Still Falls Short, including the benefits and limitations of automated transcription.
Outside of these steps, it is also best to keep your devices away from unauthorised users, dispose of old equipment containing potentially valuable information safely and to only conduct business using a secure Wi-Fi connection. This helps prevent unauthorised users from accessing your private information. Physical devices can be hacked and public Wi-Fi can present additional security risks, so it is important to protect the physical components storing your digital data too.
At BackupTyping are committed to our good reputation in the field of property typing. We regularly maintain and update our digital security systems and maintain transparency with our customers.
We pride ourselves on quick but accurate transcription and keeping your data safe is an important part of this. We have been providing property typing for decades and have developed a full understanding of the various tools needed to maintain our position within the field. You can read more about the service in What Is Audio Transcription for Chartered Surveyors?
For surveying practices deciding how best to manage their document production, we have also looked at the question in Fee Earner or Typist? Why Outsourcing Typing Works.
Here if you need us, on standby if you don’t.
BackupTyping has been working for chartered surveyors across the nation for over 20 years. If you’re interested, contact us by email or phone at 020 7096 1663 now and download our free dictation app to try our service for yourself.
