CYBERSECURITY
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The misconceptions and risks community owners face by J O H N W E I S , Quantum Fiber
“Maybe if we just ignore cyberattacks, the hackers will ignore our multifamily properties.” Ridiculous? Sure. But for years, that seemed to be the opinion of many property operators. Today, cybersecurity for multifamily properties has never been more relevant with cyber risks lurking everywhere.
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any communities, though, are less than ready to meet cyber threats head-on, despite the risks. In this series, we’ll consult with John Schiel, Principal Information Security Engineer for Cyber Defense with Lumen Technologies and their Quantum Fiber internet service—a well-known provider for multifamily properties. He’ll navigate the current state of cyber threats, the risks, misconceptions, and what property operators can do to protect their networks and residents.
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CYBERSECURITY: THE NUMBERS There’s no question that the pandemic triggered an explosion of resident internet use, and, according to Schiel, a flood of unwelcome online threats has come along with it. “You’ve got more residents on home networks, using a company computer, connecting to business networks through VPNs, and attending web meetings. All these work-from-home and virtual learning tools have increased vulnerabilities.” The sharp upturn in cyberattacks has been alarming and has resulted in more compromised data than ever before. Some of the numbers: • Cybersecurity Ventures predicted in 2017 that ransom-
