This Is What Real Estate And Proptech Should Be Doing To Protect Your Data
Source: Forbes Published: March 28, 2020
The world is digitising at breakneck speed. We are ever more connected on a daily basis and share increasing amounts of data on ourselves as we go about our lives. When we looked at proptech megatrends in my last column, data privacy was rightly pinpointed as a primary concern for each trend examined. In today’s article, we will analyse what real estate and startups can both do to ensure data security for their customers. I sat down with Jake Fingert, general partner at proptech VC Camber Creek, to discuss how they address this concern from an investment perspective.
VCs are very concerned with security when assessing an investment. Fingert shared that Camber Creek break the topic down into two macro areas: one is data security and privacy, whilst the other covers IoT devices and hardware.
There are several facets to the first. In fact, real estate transactions worldwide involve significant amounts of personal and private information (such as social security numbers, bank account information, and more) which is stored digitally. Further, as sensors and apps are rolled out both in the residential and commercial sectors, information is gathered on users’ behaviour and preferences which many would prefer to remain private. It is therefore important for owners and occupiers to carefully consider the way the tech providers they partner with deal with security around personal information. As Fingert puts it, an office worker or a tenant will blame the company that owns or manages the building they are in if their platform gets hacked, not the startup that supplied it.
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With regards to IoT devices and hardware, there are growing concerns around how these systems can be hacked and used maliciously. This ranges from the fear that Alexa home systems could be used to harvest personal data, to sprinkler systems in a building being hacked and activated by criminals planning to use them as a diversion to rob its residents. There are plenty of vulnerabilities in integrated tech systems, and these need to be looked at carefully by real estate owners and operators.
Further, it is essential that people are made aware of how their data is used and stored. According to Fingert, “building owners and operators need to proactively communicate with tenants about what personal data they are collecting, how that information is being used, and how their data is protected and stored. It is now more critical than ever for real estate firms to have strong internal programs and external partnerships in place to help them effectively manage cyber risks and data privacy concerns.”