European real estate professionals still believe the industry is unprepared for cyber attacks

More than two in five (41 percent) real estate professionals in Europe believe their industry is unprepared to deal with cyber attacks, according to new research commissioned by Drooms, a European provider of secure cloud solutions. Only one in 25 (4 percent) believe the industry is “extremely” well prepared, although 55 percent believe preparations are “moderate”.

More than nine out of 10 (92 percent) expect the number of cyber attacks on businesses to increase in Europe over the next five years. Just under nine out of 10 (86 percent) are concerned about the threat, including 40 percent who say they are “extremely” worried.

The most negative consequence of cyber attacks is seen as reputational damage, which was cited by 90 percent of respondents. Other negative outcomes include: fines from regulators (57 percent); loss of revenue (43 percent); loss of customers (41 percent); compensation to customers (33 percent); and the cost of resources needed to comba