Australian Property Institute rallies to support industry in wake of cybercrime

The Australian Property Institute (API) is rallying to support the property industry in the wake of recent cyber attacks on Australian organisations.

The announcement comes after property valuation firm Landmark White (LMW) saw data sets stolen and listed on the dark web.

The Landmark White case saw its boss, Chris Coonan, step down from his role.

Amelia Hodge, CEO of API, said any enterprise can be caught by cyber crime.

“Cyber attacks are criminal acts, and recent cybercrime by unknown perpetrators on a range of Australian private and public sector entities demonstrate that any enterprise of any size can fall victim," Hodge said.

“Our concern is obviously for our members and the clients impacted by these criminal acts. 

"We are here to fully support those impacted in any way we can. We have just under 400 API families directly impacted by the suspensions and it is important to move to a business as usual state as quickly as possible.”

LMW is not alone. In February, the Federal Government announced that the Australian Parliament and political parties had also been subject to cyber attacks. 

Hodge said that in the case of LMW, the company has reported that the personal information disclosed ranges from relatively benign and publicly available, to, in a small number of cases, more detailed category identification information.

“We are further informed that the breach was isolated, that it has been fully investigated by the relevant authorities and there is no evidence of misuse of any of that personal information,” Hodge said.

LMW have been working with independent cyber security consultants, along with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, to ensure client information and LMW’s network is secure. 

“Cyber attacks represent just one of the risks businesses face simply because they are in business,” Hodge said.

“Because they are criminal acts, no business is immune. While it is not possible for enterprises to completely remove all cybercrime risk, it is possible to prepare for the possibility, mitigate the risk, contain and remediate any damage following a cyber attack and, in the interests of all, be able to return to business-as-usual as soon as the risk is satisfactorily resolved.”