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David Willett from PEXA explains how organisations can earn consumer trust in the changing cyber security environment.
Staying ahead of cyber criminals is a constant battle. This is especially true as we enter the third year of hybrid work, with the explosion of technology usage increasing opportunities for cyber criminals.
Self-reported losses from reported cyber crime activities were over $33 billion in 2020-21, according to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC). In that same year, the ACSC reported a 13 per cent increase in cyber attacks, equating to an attack every eight minutes.
Enhancing security postures to ensure a positive, secure customer experience has been a top priority at PEXA throughout the pandemic. Companies that invest in robust and layered protections against cyber attacks are more resilient to breaches, especially those that balance across people, process and technology to ensure they are maximising that investment. But there are many organisations still underprepared when it comes to cyber security.
With this in mind, it feels timely to reflect on some key learnings around secure digital customer engagement from the last few years.
Most customers won’t go out of their way to inform an organisation if they don’t trust or have little confidence in their digital infrastructure. As traditional industries move online, many customers are naturally sceptical of securing their information.
An easy method is to provide frequent updates to all customers on best practice to help prevent any personal cyber attacks. It is important that both businesses, their customers and their broader networks see cyber security as a “shared accountability” and not just something that the security team does. Empowering customers with the same knowledge and practices employed by organisations helps demonstrate a commitment to secure handling of customer data, but more importantly, their wellbeing.
While open communication is the first step to gaining customer trust, maintaining trust throughout an entire customer journey requires an active approach.
This is especially important when longer-term customers, who are familiar with a traditional face-to-face engagement, are experiencing a digital interaction for the first time.
Maintaining open communication and investing in infrastructure to prevent cyber attacks are necessary steps towards building customer trust.
Providing a positive experience isn’t just about traditional quality customer service but also about ensuring customers feel satisfied and confident in a company’s security measures and digital infrastructure.
Buying and selling property is a significant commitment and requires the collection of a lot of sensitive data, not to mention the movement of large amounts of funds and its importance to the Australian Economy.
Looking ahead
While it’s exciting to see the benefits and efficiencies associated with the evolving technological world, we must exercise caution to all things cyber. Cyber criminals are well organised groups that have extensive resources, they will never stop, and no one is immune.
It is so important to continue to foster a culture of shared accountability across all areas of government, business and personal lives.
And as the buying and selling of property is often one of the most significant and emotional transaction a person makes, it’s essential that we make this life changing moment efficient, seamless and importantly secure.
David Willett is the chief information security officer at PEXA.
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