Cyber insurance is no longer optional, as the real estate industry sees a 17% rise in cyber incidents

The UK property sector has seen a 17% increase in cyber incidents targeting businesses, with the number of cyber attacks rising to 208 in the year ended December 31st 2025, up from 178 in the previous year* our research has shown.

Ravi Sejpal, Director of Insurance at Karis Insurance, says that “property agents and BTL property managers are becoming more attractive targets for hackers, as they collect more personal data than ever before. Cybercriminals are also aware that their client lists also include a high percentage of affluent and high net worth individuals”

 Why is the Property Sector becoming a target of Cyber attacks?

Property agencies now routinely collect data from buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants, including:

• Passports and driving licences for compliance checks
• Proof of address documentation
• Bank account details
• Mortgage information
• Tenancy records
• Transactional information relating to property purchases and sales

This data is valuable to hackers who can access it through the use of malicious software or ‘ransomware’ attacks where businesses are locked out of their data and must make a ransom payment to retrieve it.

Accessing this data could allow hackers to steal sensitive information for identity fraud, phishing scams, cybercrime activities, or sale on the dark web and even undertake ‘payment diversion fraud’, in which they substitute their bank details for the seller’s in a property purchase.

Sejpal says: “In many cases, property businesses hold just as much detail about their client base as a bank would. However, there are very few businesses in the property sector who have bank-level data security arrangements.”

“The sort of personal data that property agencies hold could be hugely valuable if it fell into the wrong hands. These figures show that hackers are increasingly realising that.”

The financial impacts of a Cyber Attack

A cyber security incidents can have devastating consequences beyond the immediate loss of access to important data.

For property firms, the financial fallout can include:

• Lost income from business interruption
• System repairs and recovering data
• Incident response costs
• Regulatory investigations
• Regulatory fines
• Legal fees and defence costs
• Reputational costs
• Compensation for affected parties

Cyber Insurance Cover is becoming essential

Sejpal says “The property industry has now reached a point where having specialist insurance for data breaches is critically important.”

“Every financial services business and law firm involved in property long ago understood the risks posed by hackers, which can be business-critical for those affected. The property industry itself hasn’t quite moved at the same pace in getting on top of the risks, however.”

Protecting your business from Cyber Attacks

The increase in cyber attacks against the property sector is a clear warning sign. As property firms continue to handle growing volumes of sensitive data, cyber criminals will continue to look for opportunities to exploit weaknesses.

Whether dealing with ransomware that encrypts data or phishing attacks targeting employees, the potential financial and reputational losses can be severe.

Karis Insurance arranges cyber cover tailored to estate agents, letting agents and BTL property managers, taking account of the volume and sensitivity of the data you hold. To review your current arrangements or get a quote, contact us here.

* Source: Information Commissioner’s Office