FAQs

• Individual real estate agents conduct business using a mix of brokerage and individual systems, including those shared with family members.
• Individuals process and store data on personal systems and devices that is critical to the brokerage’s business operation but that may not have reached the brokerage (such as personal contact databases, prospective client data and/or transactional information).
• Failure for an individual real estate agent to appropriately respond to a cyber attack or breach could have consequences for both the individual and the brokerage.
• A commercial cyber insurer will not cover the various and different systems used by individuals.

If your brokerage does not have coverage, there is limited protection for your personal systems.

Cyber Shield is a fully integrated, comprehensive program. It includes expert advice and assistance on setting up safe practices for securing your computer systems against hackers, 24/7 help if you have a hacking attack or other cybersecurity event, and as a final protection, cyber insurance for individual real estate agents in the event of a cyber attack.

No. Cyber Shield provides you with the most current cyber information, resources and support to protect you and secure your computer systems against a cyber attack or breach. Cyber insurance coverage for individual real estate agents is in place as a final protection in the event of a cyber attack.

You do not need to opt into the program. Through Cyber Shield, all REIX subscribers have immediate access to expert cyber advice, support, resources and information, from personalized cyber scans to a 24/7 help line. Cyber insurance coverage is also provided free of charge to individual real estate agents through the program.

Cyber Shield is a free program, which aligns with REIX’s goals of providing opportunities that benefit our subscribers. This program is provided to our subscribers at no additional premium.

• If a brokerage buys a cyber policy that extends coverage to its agents/subcontractors, the policy will only cover the actions of the individuals when they’re using the brokerage’s networks or systems.
• A brokerage policy will indemnify the brokerage for any and all systems and impacts specific to the brokerage’s systems.
• A commercial cyber insurer won’t cover the various and different systems used by individuals.

No. The Cyber Shield program is not designed for the risk that brokerages may be subject to. These risks are real and costly. This is what commercial insurers’ coverage is designed for.

No. The Cyber Shield coverage is designed for risk at the individual level, the brokerage system could still be the target of cyber attacks.

Cyber Shield’s ongoing expert cyber advice, support, resources and information is available to you as a subscriber, whether you have a commercial cyber policy or not.

Individual real estate agents working for your brokerage will also have access to Cyber Shield’s cyber insurance coverage, regardless of whether your brokerage has a commercial cyber policy or not.

Cyber Shield and commercial cyber insurance purchased by some brokerages are two distinct and separate policies that cover different risks. Cyber Shield is a separate policy that covers individual licensees and property managers. Whether or not a brokerage purchases commercial cyber insurance, Cyber Shield is in place.

Commercial cyber insurance is expensive and requires that each individual commercial policy be underwritten to determine the level of risk at each particular brokerage. REIX is designed to provide group coverage, which means that individual risks are not underwritten. REIX does not have the capacity, expertise or funding to cover commercial cyber risks that a brokerage may be exposed to.

DynaRisk is a Cyber Security and Risk Management company that creates cyber security software tools. DynaRisk is focused on bringing simple and accessible cyber security tools to the insurance industry. DynaRisk supports thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of consumers worldwide.

DynaRisk has partnered with REIX to create the Cyber Shield program to offer our subscribers customized protection against cyber attacks. This program was designed by REIX and a team of experts specifically to help our subscribers.

Cyber risk refers to the risk caused by a failure of an information technology system, such as through modifications, malicious use or unauthorised access to a computer system, network, or device. Risks include:

• Risk of financial loss
• Risk of business interruption
• Risk of central data/document compromise
• Information breach
• Reputation risk (loss of clients, salespeople and brokers)
• Privacy liability

• Insureds: Cyber Shield covers all individual licenses and registrants trading in real estate, as well as property managers registered with RECA (Alberta) and/or SREC (Saskatchewan).
• See our cyber insurance policy here.

It could be a virus on your system, lost data, or even a third party claim from one of your clients. If it has to do with an attack or loss of information on your computer systems — then it is probably covered in some way under this policy.

Provides coverage, including legal expenses and damages, for any claim made against you for any actual or alleged breach of privacy, damage to the computers or systems of others, unauthorized disclosure of data, and more, arising out of your professional services.

e.g. As a result of a breach, your clients personal information is stolen and shared on the internet - this would cover the costs and potentially the damage awards associated with a claim made against you by those clients alleging that you cause them damage or harm.

a) Pays for the expenses related to investigate, repair, and manage a cyber event, including but not limited to: damage and interruption by a computer virus or malicious code, accidental damage or destruction of data, and malfunctions.

e.g. Your computer gets a nasty virus and all your client files and info are on it. The expenses to investigate the issue and recover any files are covered.

b) Reimburses you for lost income as a result of a cyber event — subject to an 8 hour waiting period.

e.g. Your computer is "hacked" and while your systems are compromised, the deadline for the removal of a condition expires and you miss it — as a result, your deal dies. Should this ultimately result in a loss of commissions or other income, this coverage would cover your lost income.

Covers the costs associated with a breach of your systems to ensure you meet the requisite privacy legislation requirements — including notification costs as well as credit monitoring and other support for affected clients.

e.g. Your systems are hacked, and all your Fintrac data is stolen — that's precious personal info about your clients — you have obligations to notify your clients and should help them prevent any harm to their credit or financial well-being, this coverage will pay for those services to make sure you do right by your clients.

Provides services and coverage for expenses related to cyber extortion threats (e.g. ransomware) — including the costs to manage the event and, where necessary, pay the ransom.

e.g. You turn on your computer Friday night before a busy spring sales weekend only to discover that you've been locked out of all your files by a criminal who is asking for payment via crypto-currency (e.g. bitcoin) to release them back to you. This coverage provides the response services to help you through the event, as well as access to cryptocurrency to pay the ransom, if appropriate.

Note: Paying criminals is rarely the best option, and in some cases, it can be illegal if they are part of an identified terrorist organization — so while paying the ransom may be the easiest and quickest option, it could be necessary to restore your files and systems by other means - if it costs you a deal, you can look to coverage for your lost income.

This is coverage for your clients — it covers the actions of third parties who fraudulently cause the diversion of deposit funds from a real estate trade.

e.g. Just as your client's deal is signed, they receive an email from somebody posing as you and telling them to wire their deposit to a different bank because the office just moved the accounts. Not until after the money is released to the fraudulent bank account, do they realize that the account the email came from wasn't quite the same as your real one, and discover their deposit funds have been lost.

Please see the policy info for a full explanation of Cyber Shield’s insurance policy coverage.