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When Title Becomes the Target

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Tuesday, February 8, 2022

The ‘Firewall’ in the WFG Blocks program, WESTprotect offers an Information Security program specific to title and escrow. 

For six years Bruce Phillips has been developing WESTprotect, a service within WFG National Title Insurance Company to educate its employees and agents about the general threat of cyberattacks from wire fraud, ransomware and various means to breach firewalls and steal information and money.

WESTprotect was launched in response to WFG Founder and Executive Chairman Patrick Stone's desire to have a suite of products and services available to protect the corporation from the growing threat of cyberattack.

Around that time, Stone had also set in motion an organizational entity within the company to offer WFG agents and those in associated agencies direct access to a half-dozen categories of the company's essential corporate services. The aggregating concept was dubbed WFG Blocks, and like the final pie-wedge on a game board, Information Security became the sixth Block. Powered by WESTprotect, the Information Security Block now rounds out the WFG Blocks suite along with Compliance Services, an Expense Management program, Human Resources, Marketing and Sales, of course, Title and Settlement Services.

”I think that our Information Security Block is one of those foundational building blocks that our clients should have in place," said Jaime Johnson, VP and Director of WFG Blocks. "Cyber security concerns should be such an important consideration for everyone in our industry."

Title becomes a target

Six months ago two events heightened Phillips’ concerns for title and escrow agents.

What happened in July 2021 made news around the world. But for Phillips it had direct implications for the title and escrow industry.

On July 16th, 2021, Cloudstar, a primary cloud provider for the title industry, as well as real estate, legal, insurance, financial services, and more, fell victim to a highly sophisticated ransomware attack.

"There were over 140 title and escrow companies hosted by Cloudstar that were breached as part of the attack," Phillips said. "Clearly the criminals have now realized the wealth of data our industry maintains. This is a big shift in the landscape of cyber threats within this industry."

It was also last July that he saw "the first 'watering hole' attack specifically targeting title and escrow."

"Now I've seen multiple watering hole attacks on title companies," he said.

A watering hole attack comes after a hacker has taken time to figure out a target's Internet search patterns and creates what looks like a legitimate search result as bait for that individual. That fabricated "result" is then somehow maneuvered to the top of that Internet user's search results where it is likely to be clicked, initiating a breach.

Phillips explained that criminals now use specific title and escrow search phrases in their watering hole plays.

"For example, no other industry uses the term 'subordination agreements,'" he said.

"The idea that these are poorly funded street thugs who are not well educated is not true," he said. "They are associated with criminal or state-sponsored organizations with HR, benefits packages, etc., and they are well-funded, well-trained, and their only purpose is to steal money, information or technology. That's it."

Title-based security

Because it is borne out of title industry guardianship, whether contracted through its WFG Blocks page or directly through westprotect.com, WESTprotect services are the same, and uniquely suited to title agents.

"Our number one cyber threat remains wire fraud," Phillips said. "And, there's no technology that will protect you. It is a matter of understanding the threat and recognizing the attack. We do a really good job of recognizing that a lot of the time.

"An IT company may provide general protection, but won't have the specific domain knowledge and expertise," he continued. "They can filter your emails, but without knowing what to look for they'll use a generic filter and look for the things everyone else is looking for. We know what to look for when it comes to title agent protection, and we are well-positioned to be able to detect current threats, help users determine if a suspicious email or other contact attempt is dangerous or safe, and what to do if you actually open or download a piece of malicious software."

Sometimes the attack is disguised in a common request from someone writing, 'Hey, we're looking for an Escrow company and your name came up.'

As part of the WFG Blocks program, WESTprotect is available to agents regardless of their affiliation. For that matter, it is available to mortgage originators or brokers, real estate agents and brokers, and others within the related industries.

"I don't care if you're a WFG agent, the agent of a competitor, or who your underwriter is, I want to help you protect your company," Phillips insisted. "That was my charge when we started WESTprotect. And then the idea came up for WFG Blocks and it's just a natural fit."

Anyone can register for a free account to access the Cyber News, which provides cyber security news specific to title, real estate, lending, and more.  There is also The 411 blog, which includes posts written by Phillips and others on matters directly impacting the title industry.

For those who purchase the WESTprotect services – with fees scaled for individuals and different size offices – four major elements are available: The 411, Lure, SAFE and Protect U.

411 is the only cyber security helpdesk for small and medium-sized businesses that lets the agent get answers from a cyber security professional on potential threats, allowing them to quickly determine risk by forwarding suspicious emails or calling the helpline to get expert advice. Metrics showing use of the service are sent monthly.

"We stay up to date for you. If you have a question, just ask us by sending an email, or calling the 411 hotline. With WESTprotect 411, help is right around the corner," Phillips advises.

Lure simulates the latest, real-life phishing attacks, enabling multiple simultaneous phishing campaigns to send emails with images (for a more credible appearance), calendar invitations and even links to cloned web pages. At the end of each month, accounts receive metrics showing their use of the service.

The SAFE (Security Awareness for Everyone) program aims to raise awareness about cyber threats to encourage safer, more-informed computing habits.

"Under the SAFE program, we send monthly tip sheets, quarterly newsletters, and alerts, as needed," he said. "If an invasive element is detected on a client's system, we send report lists to their IT or operations department to block those people. We also report it to the ISP to get them kicked off the service provider they're using. If you get breached, if you wired the money, we'll walk you through the steps you need to follow to minimize the impact and give you the best opportunity to retrieve the funds."

Protect U is a learning management system for cyber security with video-based online modules and testing. Designed to be easily understood and completed, and because innocent employees are the biggest threat to company cyber security, it includes a tracking system to follow progress. Protect U helps turn those employees into an effective means of thwarting a cyber disaster.

"I think one of the big benefits of the Blocks Information Security program is that Bruce is helping to protect everyone in the industry," Johnson said. "They don't have to be a WFG agent to participate, but if they are a title insurance agent, we would love for them to partner with WFG and take advantage of everything that we offer. Regardless, through the WESTprotect program Bruce and his team are helping to protect industry professionals, even if they're not WFG Agents and, overall, that's only going to better our industry."

For more information on the WFG Blocks program, download the white paper, “Creating a True Partnership Between Title Agencies and Underwriters,” at https://wfgagent.com/blocks-2021-whitepaper, contact your local WFG Agency Representative or visit wfgblocks.com.

About Williston Financial Group
Williston Financial Group (Portland, Oregon)  is the parent company of WFG National Title Insurance Company, WFG Lender Services, WFG Default Services, Valutrust Solutions, LLC, WEST, and other title, settlement and technology solutions providers.  It is one of the fastest growing national title insurance and settlement services providers in the mortgage and real estate services industry.

 

URL: wfgblocks.com

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