Cyber security continues to be the dominant security concern for Australia — with more work going on across industry to help protect broker clients and broker businesses. Here, we review what’s happening to better protect businesses
The threat of cyber attacks is rife at the moment. Chances are you’ve experienced firsthand the phishing texts masquerading as legitimate requests for payment from someone pretending to be your bank, the Tax Office, Amazon, or even — perhaps — your mum. Cyber hacks, attacks, and scams are rife at the moment.
Cyber security is so crucial to the stability and security of the nation that Australia now has a new national cyber security strategy aimed at making Australia the most cyber secure nation in the world by 2030. There’s a new national office for cyber security within the Department of Home Affairs and a cyber security coordinator to manage all the work that is going on around cyber security.
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A key part of the safety of the country is protecting the financial system. High-profile attacks such as the recent Latitude case (where attackers were able to obtain Latitude employee login credentials to steal personal information and nearly a quarter of million customers’ records from service providers) and NAB’s revelation that it is fighting off around 50 million cyber attacks a month showcase that the financial system is increasingly under attack.
Speaking to our sister brand Mortgage Business recently, the shadow minister for cyber security and shadow minister for countering foreign interference, senator James Paterson, said: “There is probably no larger digital transaction that most Australians will do in their lifetime than entering into a mortgage or buying a property.
“Just thinking about the money transferred to pay a deposit, for example, is a great way for a criminal to make a lot of money.”
Minister for Cyber Security, Clare O'Neil MP, said in March that “it is clear that Australians expect more from businesses holding their sensitive data” and that “industry needs to put cyber security at the heart of its business decisions and practices”.
The broking industry is already worried about it. According to a recent poll on The Adviser, cyber security is the second most important business concern for brokers at the moment, behind profitability. But what is being done to help brokers become more cyber secure? Quite a lot, it turns out.
As well as associations, aggregators, lenders, and tech providers hosting webinars, events, and courses to help brokers better protect their businesses (see November 2022 edition of The Adviser for more about the importance of 2FA), a range of tools are being rolled out by the industry to help bolster broker security.
Bankwest, for example, fully launched its cyber security tool DocBox late last year to enable the secure transfer of documents between brokers and the financial institution.
The tech solution, which was in pilot with brokers last year, works by removing the need for brokers to provide supporting documents via email or third-party services (two of the main vulnerabilities for attack) and instead transfer files directly to their unique case owner. This not only improves security (and reduces the chances of sensitive information being intercepted by email) but also saves time. Indeed, the bank found that there was an average of more than 160 submissions and 800 documents a day sent to Bankwest in the first week of its full roll-out — with the system linking the supporting information directly with the relevant application.
Insurance companies are also now offering specialist cyber protection. Scott & Broad, for example, offers the mortgage broking industry cyber insurance to cover the costs if any attack happens. And, as the cost of a breach can be massive, adequate insurance can make or break a brokerage.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier this year: “For businesses these days, cyber security is as important and essential as the shop having a lock on the door.
“We need all Australian businesses to be able to protect themselves and — just as importantly — protect their customers.”
As such, if you haven’t already taken steps to protect your business and your clients’ information, it could be hurting your business prospects.
Make sure to reach out to your aggregator, association, and/or P&I insurance provider to discover the best practice you can implement today.
