Daily Real Estate News  |  November 9, 2003  |   Secure Program Takes Aim at Broker Tech Woes Viruses and worms, natural disasters, disgruntled employees. All are among a busy real estate practitioner’s worst nightmares if they destroy important electronic data and cause productivity and sales to plummet. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORSŪ Center for REALTORŪ Technology has just developed the REALTORŪ Secure Certification program to help industry professionals protect the electronic information that they send, store, or receive. “This isn’t a mandate but a program that NAR is coordinating with independent third-party security evaluators,” said Mark A. Lesswing, CRT vice president, at a meeting Saturday at the 2003 REALTORSŪ Conference & Expo in San Francisco. Viruses have increased along with Internet use, and they’re increasingly sophisticated, added Todd T. Costigan, CRT’s senior manager, industry relations. “Hackers are moving as fast as the defense mechanisms being developed. You have to be prepared,” he said. The first step in protecting your systems, Costigan said, is to review your security practices using information posted at www.REALTOR.org/secure, including benchmarked security-industry standards. After you learn if holes exist in your system, hire a CRT-approved third-party evaluator to conduct an on-site or remote assessment. Then you can apply for certification. “Because new problems represent an ongoing moving target, companies need to follow their best practices to remain protected,” Costigan said. MLS of Northern Illinois participated in a test program run by Ambiron of Chicago, one of two evaluators listed on NAR’s site. “Even though we thought we were okay, we wanted to bring in an outside company to be sure. We found that we needed to tighten up some firewalls and add a system so staff could log in when they arrive at work,” says Richard Torp, with the MLS company. The cost of an evaluation depends on an organization’s size and the complexity of its IT system. Costs can range between $1,200 and $15,000, estimated Nicholas J. Percoco of Ambiron. Hiring the company to perform work adds another fee, Percoco said. NAR also charges for certification based on a company’s size, up to $1,000. As the program gets underway, NAR will approve additional evaluators. “If an MLS or broker already works with a company that it feels comfortable with, it can encourage that company to apply,” said Keith T. Garner, CRT’s strategic architect. – Barbara Ballinger, REALTORŪ Magazine Online