Cyber Security
Housing associations are responsible for large quantities of sensitive tenant data, and their systems are responsible for the wellbeing of communities.
Housing Sector
Why the housing sector needs robust cybersecurity
In recent years, the UK housing sector has undergone a significant digital transformation, with a growing reliance on technology to manage properties, communicate with residents, and streamline operations. However, with increased digitisation comes greater cybersecurity risks.
With over 1,600 housing associations in the UK holding a wealth of personal information that data thieves want access to, it is no wonder that 25% have suffered from a cyberattack in the last 12 months. The increasing reliance on technology to streamline administrative tasks and tenant services means the risk of breaches and cyber threats is growing by the day. Combined with disparate systems, legacy infrastructure and gaps in the network, housing associations are at risk of losing trust and credibility.
With the ever-increasing resource demand, and expectations placed on social landlords by regulators and tenants, there is pressure to act quickly, mitigating risks and ensuring the protection of digital assets.
Improving IT infrastructure
‘Legacy infrastructure’ is perhaps the biggest hinderance to the housing sector. Not only does it lack advanced cybersecurity features, but its scalability falls short too. It needs to be brought into the modern day, eradicating silos that aren’t integrated or efficient. Improving IT infrastructure will require a shift in attitude to a digital-first mindset throughout your organisation.
The ever-increasing demand for housing is generating unprecedented amounts of data, sparking a need for robust, fit-for-purpose solutions designed to manage and store a wealth of information. By layering security across the entire infrastructure, you can benefit from network access solutions, interface protection, diagnostics, and troubleshooting.
Managed Security Operations Centre
Attacks targeting the housing sector tend to be phishing attacks, ransomware attacks or supply chain attacks. By having a Managed Security Operations Centre (SOC) in place, you can identify and prevent the risk of a cyber-attack. The SOC that Wavenet deliver is a next generation platform that helps you operate with confidence, knowing your network infrastructure, data, and that of your customers are protected by an always on, complete service.
With our certified and experienced cybersecurity experts, we can assist you in the assessment and management of cybersecurity risks within your cloud environment. Wavenet can help to ensure compliance with relevant data protection regulations and protect the privacy and rights of your residents’ personal data by implementing data encryption, access controls, and secure data storage that will prevent unauthorised access or disclosure of sensitive information.
Security Information and Event Management
Robust IT security demands 24/7 monitoring to protect against the emerging threat landscape. AI incident reporting can leverage pre-programmed criteria to automate alerts when a threat emerges, providing details of the type and severity of threat. Continually feeding AI with a stream of rich data, including previous learnings and current information about cybersecurity trends, allows it to forecast what kind of attacks are coming, and from where. It can also quickly assess and analyse how best to neutralise a threat. Early threat detection gives you the ability to act quickly, reduce the chance of breaches and enable action to be taken before it’s too late.
Wavenet’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) tool can be used to detect anything from suspicious transactions to indicators of a security breach, providing round-the-clock monitoring of your IT infrastructure to detect, investigate, notify, and respond to incidents and potential threats affecting your organisation.
We conduct regular assessments to identify potential cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities within your IT infrastructure. Evaluating the security of software systems, network infrastructure and employee practices helps us to regularly update your incident response plan and effectively respond to cybersecurity incidents.
Vulnerability Management services
Wavenet’s Vulnerability Management service ensures that your housing organisation can accurately detect, classify, and contextualise vulnerabilities. Designed and prioritised remediation programs, for fool-proof vulnerability and patch management, are delivered 24/7 by our certified analysts who leverage industry-leading technologies.
We implement robust network security measures, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption protocols to safeguard against unauthorised access and data breaches. Regular updates and the patching of network devices and software allows us to address known vulnerabilities and strengthen defenses against evolving cyber threats.
Discover more
How we help housing associations to improve their communication and build fast and supported networks.
Why Wavenet?
By prioritising cybersecurity measures tailored to the unique challenges of the housing sector, risks can be effectively mitigated, resident data can be protected, and digital assets can be safeguarded against evolving cyber threats. Collaboration, vigilance, and proactive risk management is essential for maintaining a secure and resilient cybersecurity posture in today’s digital landscape.
We at Wavenet can help you take steps to improve your data security and ensure you comply with all regulations.
Our solutions
