Residential real estate firms, especially smaller managing agents, often lack dedicated cybersecurity teams, making them targets for cyberattacks which are impacting almost half of UK businesses (43%), according to a 2025 survey commissioned by the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and the Home Office. The survey showed phishing was the most common attack vector, affecting 85% of breached businesses.
As cybercriminals continue to evolve their tactics, understanding the key threats and how to reduce the risk is crucial to protecting your real estate businesses.
We’re seeing real estate businesses face a range of cyberthreats, each with a specific measure to address it. For example, hackers are accessing electronically stored personal and financial information of tenants, residents or employees using software to crack passwords to then misuse personal data for financial gain. Deploying multi-factor authentication across your organisation, regular password changes and using complex passwords can reduce the hacker's chances of accessing this information considerably.
Cybercriminals are also using deceptive email addresses almost identical to trusted sources to trick real estate businesses into revealing sensitive information or transferring funds. Such phishing and social engineering attacks could leave your organisation with an unrecoverable financial loss. By rolling out fraud and cyber training to all employees, you can help staff spot suspicious activity and report incidents correctly to reduce the associated risks.
Ransomware attacks can see hackers disable critical property management systems, causing business interruption where they encrypt the data you need to access to carry out your day-to-day role and demanding a lump sum to give your organisation access again. The costs you could face aren't just the ransom but the business interruption costs while your business is out of action. Mitigating these risks means implementing robust IT security measures and providing regular employee training to enable employees to recognise when cybercriminals are impersonating trusted parties, like tenants, suppliers, or even colleagues, to trick them into handing over login credentials or clicking on malicious links.
Network security attacks see cybercriminals exploit unauthorised access via internet-connected systems with weaknesses such as the ability to source location, IP addresses and online tracking, which allows hackers to gain data for misuse. Masking your IP address makes it much harder for hackers to find and target you. A virtual private network (VPN) provides an encrypted tunnel between the internet and your device, therefore masking your IP address.
Smart building hacks are happening as building management systems become more advanced through interconnectivity, often using Bluetooth, wi-fi, or too often poorly secured internet connections. Such setups are allowing cyberattacks to occur remotely, enabling hackers to take control of security, heating and access controls and demand ransom in exchange for renewed access to the management systems. Such breaches can cause significant disruption to tenants, leading to compensation costs on top of any ransom demanded by the hackers. Implementing measures such as providing secure wi-fi in your properties and ensuring you update all systems – including property management software, to patch vulnerabilities – can help prevent your smart buildings from being hacked.
Continuously monitoring and understanding the evolving landscape of cyber threats and adapting protocols to suit your real estate business is central to keeping it safe from cyberattack. This is particularly true if your residential real estate firm manages sensitive tenant data, handles rent payments or relies on digital platforms for maintenance requests, lease processing and day-to-day communications with residents.
Implementing security protocols that require continuous verification, such as multifactor authentication and session timeouts, and restricting access based on your organisation’s risk levels, can prove key steps. For managing agents and property owners, this means ensuring only authorised personnel can access key systems and data related to resident communications, financial transactions and lease documentation.
You’ll need to regularly test your systems, such as tenant portals, rent collection platforms, and property management software, to identify and address any vulnerabilities.
You can also invest in automated threat detection systems to reduce detection and response to sophisticated cyber intrusions. By detecting phishing attempts more rapidly, you can better block unauthorised logins and ransomware activity, helping safeguard resident data and maintain operational continuity.
Despite your best efforts, no system is fully immune to ransomware attacks. For residential real estate businesses, such as property managers, landlords and housing associations, you’ll need a strategic recovery plan to get back to normal operations and minimise the impact of cyberattack has on your business, tenants and residents.
We would advise a structured approach to your cyberattack recovery planning that covers the following:
A well-prepared cyber recovery plan that covers these points can significantly reduce downtime and financial losses.
Ensuring you have adequate insurance coverage will help protect your business should cybercriminals prove successful. For comprehensive protection, your cyber insurance policy should include both first-party and third-party coverage.
First-party coverage addresses the direct impact of a cyber incident on your business, typically including the cost of breach investigations, compensation for business interruption and coverage for ransom payments associated with cyber extortion.
Third-party coverage safeguards against liabilities to external parties. It generally includes legal expenses, such as defence costs and settlement payments arising from claims related to data breaches or violations of privacy regulations.
For more information on cybersecurity, cyberattacks and ransomware or help with your strategic recovery plan in the residential sector, please get in touch.
