You know the value of practicing dental hygiene. The same is true for your cybersecurity!
Anyone who has been to the dentist knows the drill. You are in the middle of getting your cleaning, and your hygienist starts asking about your flossing habits and the toothbrush you use. This isn鈥檛 mere chit-chat but rather a way for your dentist to gauge your overall oral hygiene. Dentists know that keeping your teeth healthy requires more than an annual cleaning. It is a daily routine, involving consistent brushing, limiting your sugar intake, and replacing your toothbrush regularly.
While it may be tempting to take a 鈥渟et it and forget it鈥� approach to cybersecurity, resisting that impulse is crucial! Just like oral health requires daily maintenance, cybersecurity needs ongoing attention to prevent vulnerabilities from developing. In this blog, we’ll draw direct comparisons between the two to highlight the importance of good cyber hygiene.
MFA and Password Management = Daily Brushing and Flossing
Dentists will say that the first line of defense against dental problems is consistent, at-home brushing and flossing. Without a good routine in place, problems can quickly emerge. In the short term, this can include plaque build-up and gum inflammation. If neglect continues, tooth decay, cavities, chronic pain, and even systemic health issues can develop.
Weak password strategies and a lack of multi-factor authentication (MFA) often lead to similar outcomes for cybersecurity. Just like plaque builds up over time, the threat of phishing attacks or credential hacking increases without stringent protections. Eventually, the consequences can become severe, including stolen credentials, ransomware attacks, and operational disruptions. These issues can ultimately lead to reputational damage, economic fallout, and even legal penalties.
Just as brushing and flossing protect your teeth, using MFA and strong passwords can prevent cybersecurity issues before they arise.
Avoiding Suspicious Emails and Links = Reducing Sugary Food
Keeping your teeth pearly white also requires making smart choices, such as cutting back on sugar. When people indulge too much in sweet treats, it often leads to tooth decay and other issues like bad breath, gum disease, and even an increased risk of heart disease.
Similarly, failing to exercise caution with emails and links can expose your agency to cyber threats. A small lapse here and there may not seem like a big issue. But just as excessive sugar consumption eventually leads to cavities, frequent mistakes in identifying phishing attempts can quickly spiral into a security crisis.
The best way to prevent this is by changing the behaviors that create risk in the first place. Just like education on the dangers of sugar helps people make healthier dietary choices, cybersecurity training and vigilance can help your team operate more safely online.
Software and System Updates = Replacing Your Toothbrush
Good oral hygiene is not just about daily habits; it also depends on using the right tools. Experts routinely advise replacing your toothbrush every few months to maintain optimal dental health.
Like an old toothbrush that has lost its effectiveness, outdated security software may fail to detect emerging threats. Worse still, it can slow down your systems, hinder productivity, and even put your business at greater risk.
The lesson is clear: keeping your software up to date is just as critical for cybersecurity as keeping your toothbrush fresh is for dental health.
Good Hygiene: The Best Thing for Your Teeth and Your Tech!
Practicing cyber hygiene outside of an annual checkup is essential for the long-term health of both your technology stack and your business. Just as strong oral health depends on brushing, diet, and fresh tools, maintaining cybersecurity requires strong passwords, robust email security, and consistent software updates. Neglecting these steps can result in serious consequences鈥攚hether that be rotten teeth or IT system vulnerabilities. By taking these simple precautions, you can keep both your smile and your cybersecurity in top shape.
For over 15 years, multi-factor authentication (MFA) has played a critical role in how businesses operate securely online. The rise of cloud computing, social media, and mobile apps has made MFA essential for many companies鈥攑articularly in regulated industries. However, despite its importance, many users find MFA cumbersome due to its reliance on SMS text or authentication apps.
The good news is that significant changes are coming to the MFA landscape. Let鈥檚 explore the latest trends for 2025 and beyond, showing you how to leverage these advancements to maximize security while minimizing inconvenience.
Why you should keep up with the MFA evolution
When it comes to cybersecurity, the threat landscape is ever changing. MFA practices continue to evolve as well. Agencies that evolve along with this technology in 2025 will be able to reap the full benefits of advances like biometrics, adaptive MFA and continuous authentication. Let鈥檚 look at each one-by-one.
Believe in biometrics
Arguably, the biggest shift coming down the MFA pike is the rise of biometrics. Biometrics is already a big part of many applications. Anytime fingerprints are used to log in, for example, biometrics is at work. Look for these services to proliferate more quickly, and eventually include vocal and behavioral verification capabilities. Title companies can leverage advanced biometrics to improve security and convenience for their teams and customers. These services offer unique layers of protection without the hassles of managing multiple passwords.
Adaptive MFA is advancing
Another development for agencies to watch out for is adaptive MFA. Today鈥檚 MFA requires repeated verification, sometimes as often as during every login. Adaptive MFA streamlines this by analyzing the context. It prompts additional verification only when warranted鈥攕uch as when a change is detected in a login鈥檚 location or device. By reducing unnecessary prompts without compromising security, title agencies can offer a smoother, more user-friendly experience.
Continuous authentication is coming
Perhaps one of the most exciting MFA developments that has a clear applicability for title agencies is continuous authentication. Continuous authentication is closely related to adaptive verification. It takes it one step further, however, by working in the background and constantly assessing factors like typing patterns, device usage and location. This allows it to confirm the user鈥檚 identity throughout a given session and detect anomalies in real time. Title agencies can use this technology to improve verification and security experiences.
Protecting transactions
In an age of endless cyber threats, adopting the latest MFA technology is critical for agencies seeking the right balance between security and convenience. In addition to MFA, agents need effective solutions to address fraud risks within transactions. 海角吃瓜黑料’s new identity verification and fraud prevention tool, , for instance, provides validation of identity instruments, as well as bank account and business information, helping to move transactions forward with confidence. Title professionals also benefit from detailed audit trails, simplifying compliance and providing added peace of mind.
Achieve reliable and convenient MFA security MFA technology is an effective, albeit inconvenient, security technology. In an era of remote work and complex technology like cloud networks, it will remain an important part of agencies鈥� security stacks. The encouraging news is that we are on the cusp of new MFA developments that will ensure better security and improved customer experiences. In the end, that will enable the type of smooth, swift transactions that both customers and agents appreciate.
As any seasoned title insurance professional will tell you, real estate transactions are complex beasts, requiring different stakeholders to share personal information sometimes across great distances. This presents massive challenges, especially at a time when data breaches seem more common than ever. What can an independent agent do to protect personal and proprietary information? Technologies like client-side encryption (CSE) offer a possible way forward. CSE can reduce your attack surface and limit liability by centralizing key management and strengthening access controls. Let鈥檚 see how it can help secure your agency from the threats of both today and tomorrow.
What is client-side encryption?
You have likely heard about encryption and perhaps even use such technology at your agency. After all, encryption technologies have been in place across multiple industries for decades. CSE is a more recent innovation. It offers users greater control over when and where their data is encrypted, and over who can decrypt this information.
How does it differ from traditional encryption?
CSE technology differs from traditional methods of encryption in two key aspects: where the actual encryption occurs and who controls the encryption keys. When using CSE, data is usually encrypted on a user鈥檚 local device before being sent to a server or shared over a cloud network. Access to this data is similarly held by the user, which means that the data remains completely inaccessible to a service or network provider.
How CSE can benefit your agency
There are clear security implications for your agency when you choose to implement CSE. CSE can help strengthen defenses against data breaches and other criminal activity. When equipped with this technology, agencies are freed from relying on third-party providers to manage security keys. Even if your network or service provider goes down or is compromised in some way, your data will remain safe and secure. Additionally, CSE gives companies greater control over who can decrypt their data, allowing them to align access permissions with organizational policies or user roles.
For highly regulated businesses like title insurance, CSE may be particularly advantageous. Title agencies are required to meet various compliance obligations, which include taking steps to ensure consumer security and privacy. CSE can directly help with these requirements.
Be future-ready with CSE
CSE doesn鈥檛 just have immediate benefits; it can also help your agency prepare for future challenges. For example, data protection laws are expanding throughout the world and the United States, imposing ever-more-stringent regulations on how businesses operate online. Data sovereignty laws are similarly growing, mandating that organizational data stay within a specific geographical location. Lastly, the rise of AI and quantum computing is upending many current encryption methodologies.
CSE holds great promise for agencies looking to navigate these seismic changes. It can ensure data is immediately encrypted at the source where it is created, thus satisfying key data protection provisions. It can empower companies to maintain control over encryption keys and not rely on providers who may be hundreds of miles away. And it provides enhanced security that can help agencies use AI safely while preparing for the next wave of cryptography advances.
Consider CSE for your encryption needs For title businesses, protecting sensitive organizational and customer data is non-negotiable. Encryption has long been the go-to method for accomplishing this goal, but traditional technologies may be insufficient for the changing digital environment. Client-side encryption offers potential advantages by encrypting data right at the source and ensuring that access is strictly maintained. Companies that adopt it no longer need to rely on third parties, can more easily comply with regulations, and are better prepared to leverage emerging technologies. In a competitive business environment like ours, those are benefits worth considering.
In the title industry, few transactions raise eyebrows faster than vacant land. These deals are highly susceptible to fraud, which made Manatee Title Closing Officer Nikki Vantilburg understandably cautious when a recent vacant land transaction landed on her desk. Noticing obvious warning signs about the transaction right off the bat, Nikki decided to investigate further and deploy 海角吃瓜黑料鈥檚 new fraud detection tool, SecureMyTransaction, as an additional safeguard. By taking these steps, she confirmed her suspicions, prevented loss and ended up being recognized by 海角吃瓜黑料鈥檚 crime watch program. Her example shows how combining human tenacity with technology leads to safer, more successful transactions.
A common problem
Vacant land transactions are far from uncommon in the title industry. 鈥淲e get a lot of them in Citrus County,鈥� said Vantilburg. But familiar never means free from risk. Title professionals must often apply greater scrutiny to vacant land deals than they might to other transaction types, as they often have characteristics that make them targets for fraudsters, like:
Absentee owners
Dense ownership histories
Complex zoning requirements; and
Lack of a clear title
As an experienced agent, Vantilburg is well-versed in the risks involved with processing vacant land transactions. That鈥檚 why she took particular care when examining a recent vacant lot transaction that was located not far from Manatee Title鈥檚 Florida offices.
Checking and double checking the data
The first thing Vantilburg did after opening her investigation was to double check the transaction鈥檚 information by utilizing tools and information provided by 海角吃瓜黑料. 鈥淲e had gotten some literature and tips from 海角吃瓜黑料 a while back, [saying to] check if there’s a [listing] agent involved and see [if] they have met the seller in person,鈥� said Vantilburg. Connecting with the agent did little to allay her concerns, however, as they had never met the purported seller. Further digging yielded fresh red flags. These included tax documents that showed that the seller鈥檚 location was in Ontario and an ID with inconsistent fonts throughout the document.
Multiple layers of proof
Reviewing these warning signs, the Manatee Title team concluded that they likely could not move forward, and instead, would work to establish 鈥渕ultiple layers of proof鈥� that the transaction was indeed fraudulent. To accomplish this, Vantilburg turned to 海角吃瓜黑料鈥檚 new fraud prevention and identity verification tool, SecureMyTransaction. She quickly set up the file and sent out the link to the 鈥渟eller.鈥�
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 hear anything for over 24 hours,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e then finally answers me and says, 鈥榊ou know, well, I’ve had a security compromise with my computer. So unfortunately, I can’t click on any links because it crashed my computer.鈥� He then sent me the same ID that he had sent to the listing agent 鈥� you know, the fake ID.鈥�
The final straw
After taking all these steps, Vantilburg had a final card to play to establish that the transaction was fraudulent. During her initial research before deploying SecureMyTransaction, she found the obituary of the seller鈥檚 wife, which listed that she had been deceased since 2017. After the 鈥渟eller鈥� refused to engage with SecureMyTransaction and offered to send his ID instead, Vantilburg casually asked him if he and his wife would be signing the transaction documents together. He responded that they would 鈥� proving that he was a fraudster operating in bad faith. This was all Vantilburg needed to conclude her investigation, deem the transaction fraudulent and notify relevant parties.
Using all available means to defeat fraudsters
Manatee Title鈥檚 handling of this transaction serves as an informative blueprint for responding to endemic fraud within the title industry. Vantilburg鈥檚 savvy research skills provided evidence that the transaction was likely illegitimate. The seller鈥檚 unwillingness to cooperate with the agency鈥檚 fraud detection tool furthered these suspicions.
All in all, the experience showed how combining technology and old-fashioned human tenacity is a formidable way to beat fraudsters at their own game. Reflecting, Vantilburg echoed these sentiments: 鈥淢ake sure the person you鈥檙e working with is doing what they are supposed to be doing. And sign up for SecureMyTransaction. If they aren鈥檛 willing to cooperate with the tool and with your efforts to secure the process, that鈥檚 a pretty big indication that there might be a problem.鈥�
Are you an 海角吃瓜黑料 agent who has detected a fraudulent transaction in your work? Learn more about the 海角吃瓜黑料 crime watch program. And if you鈥檇 like to get started with SecureMyTransaction in your agency, you can learn more about the product here.
In the world of information technology, nothing stays the same for long, and that presents both challenges and opportunities. Staying current with the latest trends may be a business necessity, but it can also be a tall order to cut through the noise and implement the right solutions and systems. To make it a bit easier, we鈥檝e compiled the top IT tips and developments you need to be aware of in 2024.
AI and cybersecurity risk
The fact that AI is at the top of the list will surprise no one. For much of 2023, the business world was abuzz about the promise of this emerging technology. In 2024, all signs point to AI becoming more and more intertwined with how companies conduct their operations. While this is largely a positive development, as AI can dramatically increase employee productivity, it does carry cybersecurity risks.
Data privacy is perhaps the most obvious concern when thinking about the intersection of AI and cybersecurity. When companies integrate programs like ChatGPT or similar technologies into their workflows, such programs may share critical data with the service provider and compromise the integrity of sensitive information. To avoid this problem, a best practice is to develop strict standards for how employees can use AI responsibly and protect personal or proprietary data. Some elements to consider including in an official policy are:
Risk assessment: Before implementing AI systems, agencies need to have a comprehensive view of their system vulnerabilities and safeguards.
Access controls: Define the roles and responsibilities of those with access to AI systems on equipment and networks.
Employee training: Consider what type of training and support staff need to leverage AI effectively without compromising cybersecurity and data safeguards.
Data protection: Clarify what type of information can be shared with AI programs and what must remain sequestered.
Remote work is here to stay
Four years on from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing is clear: remote work is here to stay. Even large companies that have publicly resisted telecommuting have begun to signal that the pre-pandemic, fully in-office model is not coming back.
This has clear implications for our industry. As more employees come to expect flexibility, companies will need to adapt their technology suites. Prioritizing connection and collaboration tools, cloud computing and advanced security solutions like endpoint threat detection can help you succeed in an era of dispersed workforces. Companies will also need to build a remote onboarding program that can help them bring new employees into the fold from anywhere.
Businesses are under ever-increasing scrutiny to incorporate social and environmental concerns into their decision-making. Naturally, this also extends to IT. By making it a priority to implement sustainable solutions into your tech stack, you will enhance your reputation and become a more attractive partner to stakeholders.
Even better, making technology decisions through a green lens is also good for a business鈥檚 bottom line. In an earlier blog I wrote, I outlined how green IT tools do more with less, leading to better productivity and lower costs.
Building durable cyber resistance
Recent cybercrimes targeting major mortgage and title companies stand as a stark reminder that criminal activities can have enormous consequences in our industry. Successful attacks can have short and long term implications 鈥� ranging from service disruption and compromised systems to stolen credentials, reputational harm and sizable monetary loss.
At 海角吃瓜黑料, we take such threats extremely seriously and have implemented a variety of safeguards to better protect the stakeholders who rely on us every day. Just a few of these strategies include:
Hosting our servers at a secure data center protected by redundant firewalls.
Utilizing email filtering, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and endpoint threat detection and response (EDR) software.
Routinely backing up all email accounts, documents, and mission-critical data.
Conducting quarterly and annual network penetration and phishing tests.
Deploying cloud-based solutions and software for added security.
Adhering to a strict schedule for installing security patches to all relevant tools on servers and workstations.
In the wake of recent cyber attacks in our industry, we are also moving to implement additional security tools to further solidify our defense posture. We encourage agents to take a similar approach and see the New Year as a critical time to continue moving toward what鈥檚 known as 鈥渃yber resiliency.鈥� This involves assessing the following dimensions of your cybersecurity strategy:
Robust risk management: Tackling your organization鈥檚 security involves creating a comprehensive view of your policies, procedures, data resources, vulnerabilities and protections.
Employee investment: Strong organizational cybersecurity relies in part on employees who have been trained in industry best practices as well as organizational safeguards and procedures.
Data security and recovery: Data is an enormously valuable business asset and requires strong security protocols and a comprehensive backup strategy.
Incident response: No security system is complete without a detailed approach to incident response. That includes the software and hardware that needs to be installed across your company, a business continuity plan as well as documentation procedures.
Stay apprised of new developments to win in 2024 People always say that the one constant in life is change, and that adage applies to technology. As we move into the new year, new developments, technology solutions and tools are sure to emerge. The points that we have discussed here are a solid foundation as you start thinking about your 2024 IT strategy. At 海角吃瓜黑料, we are also committed to sharing relevant IT updates and tips for you to further refine your approach going forward. Keep checking in on the 海角吃瓜黑料 Advantage blog to learn about building a solid security stack, protecting your company鈥檚 data and much more.
