Protecting Your HOA From Cyber Attacks, Part 1: The Role of Residents

You may think that your homeowners association (HOA) is an unlikely target for cyber criminals, but think again. According to Malware Trends for Small and Medium Businesses Q1 2017, smaller firms saw the biggest increase in malware incidents from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017. And Arizona led the nation, with the number of attacks against the state’s small- and medium-sized businesses up a whopping 1,332.8 percent.
 
As if that weren’t disconcerting enough, the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center recently published its 2016 Internet Crime Report in which it ranked Arizona No. 15 for money lost to cyber crime. Total losses for Arizonan victims exceeded $20.5 million.
 
Are you wondering what all this has to do with your HOA? Remember that your association functions as a small business, so it faces the same potential risks. Hackers realize that smaller organizations often don’t have the money or the sophistication to keep up with cyber security, which makes them easy targets. If these criminals do manage to breach your system, they may have access to financial information, as well as residents’ personal data.
 
In part one of our three-part cyber security series, we explain what homeowners in your HOA can do to protect themselves and their association.