NAR Announces New Cyber Liability Insurance Program for Realtors
CHICAGO (February 20, 2020) -- The National Association of Realtors this morning announced a partnership with CyberPolicy to deliver a new cyber liability insurance program designed to meet the unique needs of real estate professionals. As NAR continues to combat the escalating threat of fraud in the real estate industry by offering educational and preventative resources to members, the partnership will help Realtor®-owned brokerages efficiently compare, quote and purchase quality cyber insurance plans from a select group of carriers who understand the unique needs of real estate professionals and offer exclusive NAR member benefits. "Cyber security threats are fast-growing in the U.S.," said NAR CEO Bob Goldberg. "And while some progress has been made to increase awareness and prevention efforts, it's clear that there is more our members must understand to avoid these situations and to be prepared if an attack occurs. CyberPolicy will provide access to a key piece of that puzzle through a specialized program created specifically for our members." Determining which type of insurance is needed to protect businesses in the event of an online attack has also proven difficult for brokers and professionals across other industries. "The real estate industry remains highly vulnerable to cybercrime, but determining what type of protection and insurance you need to best defend your business in the event of an attack can be a challenge," said Keith Moore, CEO and Founder of CyberPolicy. "We're thrilled to partner with NAR to offer a tailor-made solution for Realtors® that provides the cyber liability insurance needed to meet their needs." According to FBI data, about 11,300 people were victims of wire fraud in the real estate and rental sector in 2018, totaling more than $150 million in losses nationwide. The FBI expects more than six trillion dollars in cybercrimes to be committed globally by 2021. Every weekday in the United States, five thousand phishing emails are sent out from more than 115 countries around the world. Through this partnership, CyberPolicy will begin delivering customized plan options to help Realtors® quickly restore operations after a cyberattack or fraud occurs, as insurers work with them to recoup losses and legal costs, recover stolen data and preserve professional reputations. While NAR encourages brokers to continue educating agents about ways to reduce risk and exposure, the nation's largest trade association contends that cyber liability insurance offers another critical layer of protection. Visit nar.realtor/cyberpolicy to learn more about this program, available exclusively through NAR's REALTOR Benefits® Program. The National Association of Realtors® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.4 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Realtors Offer Perspectives on Data Privacy to Senate Commerce Committee
WASHINGTON (March 26, 2019) – The National Association of Realtors' 2019 Vice Chair of Federal Technology Policy testified before the Senate on Tuesday as Congress continues its push to craft data privacy legislation. Nina Dosanjh offered NAR's perspective on how federal efforts to protect consumer information can be beneficial for America's small businesses, including real estate brokerages, and their customers. "As Realtors®, we have no higher priority than the relationships with our clients and the protection of their private information," Dosanjh said during her testimony to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. "Central to this relationship is an assurance of the protection of our clients' sensitive personal information. NAR's members are emphasizing this point as it becomes more relevant in today's world, while the Realtor® Code of Ethics explicitly acknowledges the obligation to preserve the confidentiality of our clients' data." Dosanjh is a Realtor® and the Director of Strategic Alliances and Technology with Vanguard Properties in San Francisco, California. Her role analyzing the firm's technological and operational systems affords a unique perspective into the potential impact of federal privacy legislation on small Realtor® entities across the country. "As technology drives evolution in the real estate industry, our approach to data privacy must evolve as well," Dosanjh told the committee. "Congress has a tremendous opportunity to strengthen protections for consumers, but any legislation that emerges from these efforts must also reflect small business realities. These are considered in NAR's six key principles for a nationwide, consumer-centered data privacy law." Specifically, Realtors® believe effective data privacy legislation must establish uniform standards for businesses and equal protection for consumers; include direct statutory obligations for all service providers handling consumer data; focus on transparency and customer choice; emphasize accountability for each business's respective actions; establish uniform nationwide standards and enforcement for data privacy; and, finally, include reasonable FTC enforcement authority. While the timing for palatable federal legislation is unclear, NAR has worked to provide members with extensive resources and training opportunities regarding data privacy and security, emphasizing best practices for protecting the sensitive information Realtors® encounter daily. "America's Realtors®, like many main street businesses, depend on reliable data to drive and sustain our day-to-day operations," said NAR President John Smaby, a second-generation Realtor® from Edina, Minnesota. "Going forward, maintaining the trust of our clients by safeguarding personal information will be critical to the success of each of NAR's 1.3 million members. As Congress continues data privacy discussions, Realtors® are focused on ways to proactively and effectively secure our clients' data while they pursue the American Dream of homeownership." The National Association of Realtors® is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1.3 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

VASCO Strengthens Position in E-Signature and Identity Verification Markets with Acquisition of Leading Customer Onboarding Provider Dealflo
Improves competitive position of e-signature offering with end-to-end financial transaction management and consumer financial agreement automation CHICAGO and LONDON, May 30, 2018 – VASCO Data Security, Inc., a global leader in digital identity security, transaction security and business productivity, today announced it has acquired privately-held Dealflo for £41 million in cash. In a separate press release today, VASCO introduced its Trusted Identity (TID) platform and announced its name is changing to OneSpan. Dealflo is a rapidly growing and leading provider of identity verification and end-to-end financial agreement automation solutions. Its flexible workflow management system automates the full lifecycle of customer onboarding by providing a flexible and automated application process, integration of third-party identity verification services, tailored and configurable contract generation, e-signature capture and secure vaulting. Dealflo has achieved significant success in providing onboarding solutions to the consumer and asset financing sectors primarily in the U.K. "The combination of two leading providers of solutions for agreement automation creates a strong offering for customer onboarding," said Aite Group's Retail Banking and Payments Research Director, Julie Conroy. "Financial institutions in particular have a growing demand for onboarding automation solutions and coming from OneSpan, a leading provider in the financial services industry, this will make for a very compelling offering in the market." Dealflo's agreement automation platform provides a flexible API that facilities the integration of multiple third party solutions for each step of the financial transaction management process. Dealflo has partnerships with leading identity verification providers Equifax, iovation (being acquired by TransUnion), Mitek, and GB Group, as well as OneSpan Sign (formerly eSignLive). OneSpan will continue to support these relationships and plans to increase the number of e-sign partnerships as it expands Dealflo's presence globally. "This acquisition will enable us to grow our subscription revenue and Dealflo's technology will be a major differentiator for our eSignLive solution," said VASCO CEO, Scott Clements. "In addition, Dealflo's identity verification capabilities will allow us to accelerate the launch of our TID platform based onboarding, identity and anti-fraud solutions." There are significant synergies between the companies. Dealflo is headquartered in London with its development center in Montreal, the home of OneSpan's largest development center. In addition, OneSpan Sign is already integrated into Dealflo's platform and more than half of Dealflo's customers are also OneSpan's, including leading financial institutions and organizations such as BMW, Santander, BNP Paribas and Mercedes Benz. "The entire Dealflo team is thrilled that we are joining a leader in the financial services segment that can accelerate growth of our solution and expand into new regions where OneSpan is very well-established," stated Dealflo Founder and CEO, Abe Smith. "We have a deep history with OneSpan Sign and look forward to working together and expanding our integration into OneSpan's powerful and innovative Trusted Identity platform." About OneSpan OneSpan enables financial institutions and other organizations to succeed by making bold advances in their digital transformation. We do this by establishing trust in people's identities, the devices they use, and the transactions that shape their lives. We believe that this is the foundation of enhanced business enablement and growth. More than 10,000 customers, including over half of the top 100 global banks, rely on OneSpan solutions to protect their most important relationships and business processes. From digital onboarding to fraud mitigation to workflow management, OneSpan's unified, open platform reduces costs, accelerates customer acquisition, and increases customer satisfaction. Learn more about OneSpan at OneSpan.com. About Dealflo Dealflo provides end-to-end financial agreement automation services and processes billions of financial transactions annually in a single service. Dealflo reduces risk and cost, increases conversion and improves user experience by automating the entire process. Dealflo users are protected by ensuring that all agreements fully comply with the mandated process whether being signed online, in a retail store or alongside an intermediary. It increases enforceability with the strongest evidence available, meaning less risk from a legal, compliance and financial perspective. It has operations across North America and EMEA, and is headquartered in London.

Stay Safe at Home with SABRE's New Fake Security Key Pad
The authentic looking decoy device is designed to stop thieves in their tracks. SABRE, the self-defense brand trusted by police and consumers worldwide, is pleased to announce the expansion of their Home Series with the launch of the Fake Security Key Pad. SABRE's Home Series offers innovative solutions for all budgets, including DIY options, standalone systems, wireless alarms, and faux alternatives. Their new decoy home security device has been specially designed to look and feel like a real security system—but without the price tag. "While a home system is the most secure way to protect yourself and your possessions, it's not always in the budget," explains SABRE CEO David Nance. "Our new keypad creates the most realistic illusion that your building is safely under surveillance." Fake Security Key Pad Highlights Realistic Appearance – It resembles a professional system down to its low light activated, light-up key pad. Effective – Studies have shown that burglars will turn tail at the first sign of a security system. Weatherproof – It can be used both indoors and out. Works for Residential and Commercial – It can be used on homes, offices, apartments, or buildings. Easy to Install – With no wires and low battery consumption, it only takes minutes to install peace of mind. "Thieves are just looking for another easy target," said Nance. "Even something as small as a faux key pad can discourage them from breaking in." The new key pad can also be used alongside SABRE's Fake Security Camera Dome or Fake Outdoor Security Camera for a more sophisticated system. When it's time to upgrade, the SABRE Home Series offers the most user-friendly, loudest systems on the market developed by the most trusted professionals in the business. About SABRE SABRE, the no. 1 pepper spray trusted by police and consumers worldwide, is family owned and operated with four decades of experience and is the leading brand in personal safety. The company's law enforcement grade pepper sprays provide consumers with the same superior quality chosen exclusively by the New York Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and law enforcement agencies worldwide. SABRE has trained 3,500 officers around the globe on the use of force and how to use pepper spray. SABRE also has a line of consumer personal alarms and home security systems, and is dedicated to educating its customers. SABRE's Personal Safety Academy is available through certified instructors around the world to help teach personal safety skills to SABRE users. Learn more at http://www.SABREred.com.

Clareity Security Solutions Now Part of CoreLogic Real Estate Solutions Suite
Technology Provides Seamless Authentication Across Multiple Platforms IRVINE, Calif., August 2, 2017—CoreLogic®, a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider, announced today that the company has added Clareity Security software solutions to its suite of Real Estate Solutions products. This addition expands the range of CoreLogic technology services to Multiple Listing Organizations and Associations in North America as well as product offerings for brokerages and their agents. Clareity® is identified as an industry leader in secure identity and access management. Serving over eight hundred fifty thousand real estate professionals daily delivering over two hundred fifty application and service integrations. Clareity's flagship product, SAFEMLS®, has been serving multiple listing organizations for a dozen years and its popular, custom-branded dashboard platforms serve hundreds of multiple listing organizations, associations, and brokerages across North America and will now do so using the CoreLogic solutions. All Clareity products and services are now part of CoreLogic, including their software solutions for secure authentication; single-sign-on (SSO); integration and workflow automations; secure messaging and communication; content management and business intelligence. "The Real Estate industry is full of visionary tech companies driving all of us forward," said Chris Bennett, executive leader of Real Estate Solutions for CoreLogic. "Every day, a cutting-edge app or web service is introduced to agents and brokers to help them find and serve customers. The addition of Clareity solutions to the CoreLogic Real Estate Solutions suite helps tech companies deliver those innovative tools to users more transparently. We think our mutual cultures of commitment to moving our industry forward through innovation is a terrific catalyst for the benefit of our customers." Gregg Larson, founder and CEO of Clareity, who will be joining the CoreLogic executive team states, "We're thankful for our employees, customers, and integration partners for their continued trust in Clareity. We're confident that CoreLogic's dedication to customer centered innovation will help fuel the growth and enhancement of the Clareity line of solutions." About CoreLogic CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX) is a leading global property information, analytics and data-enabled solutions provider. The company's combined data from public, contributory and proprietary sources includes over 4.5 billion records spanning more than 50 years, providing detailed coverage of property, mortgages and other encumbrances, consumer credit, tenancy, location, hazard risk and related performance information. The markets CoreLogic serves include real estate and mortgage finance, insurance, capital markets, and the public sector. CoreLogic delivers value to clients through unique data, analytics, workflow technology, advisory and managed services. Clients rely on CoreLogic to help identify and manage growth opportunities, improve performance and mitigate risk. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., CoreLogic operates in North America, Western Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.corelogic.com.

LeadingRE Names Clareity a Preferred Technology Solution
CHICAGO – (6/21/17) – Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® has selected Clareity as a preferred provider through its Solutions Group program, which identifies business resources for its global community of 565 residential real estate firms. Clareity is an industry leader in providing secure identity and access management, serving over 825,000 real estate agents daily. Clareity offers a variety of tools, including secure authentication, single sign-on (SSO), workflow automations, secure messaging and communication, content management and business intelligence. "While many of our members utilize Clareity's services through their MLSs, we are excited to introduce them to DASH™, their full-service platform for brokers," said Robin LaSure, LeadingRE vice president, corporate marketing. "This platform gives our brokers a convenient way to support their agents through a secure mobile-friendly dashboard that centralizes applications and streamlines communications." Clareity President Amy Gorce adds, "We are extremely excited to form this relationship with the LeadingRE family. Having worked in this industry for over 20 years, I've had nothing but good experiences with the LeadingRE network. We're confident that we can add value to for each and every one of its members!" Learn more about Clareity's broker tools at clareity.com/broker-products. Learn more about Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® at LeadingRE.com. About Clareity Clareity is the leading provider of authentication, identity management, single sign-on services and consulting for the real estate industry and currently serves over 850,000 real estate professionals in North America. Clareity is dedicated to innovating real estate technology solutions and creating the most convenient, secure and reliable products available. Their product suite offers multiple solutions including DASH™ for brokers, SAFEMLS™ PLUS, Single Sign-On Dashboards, Clareity Direct Connections™, the vendor network Discover, and more. The company has received the National Association of REALTOR®’s approval and endorsement, multiple Inman Innovator Awards, and numerous industry recognitions.

Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS MLS®) Partners With Clareity to Offer Members Clareity’s Suite of Products
  Scottsdale, Arizona – May 11, 2017 – Clareity, a leading provider of cutting edge software for real estate organizations, is excited to announce the recent addition of Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc. (BAREIS MLS®) to its customer family. The partnership will provide BAREIS members access to Clareity's full suite of products which includes Clareity's Single Sign-On (SSO) Dashboard, SafeMLS™ PLUS MLS Security, and Unlimited SSO Connections. BAREIS MLS®, who becomes another customer in the Bay Area that will now offer Clareity's suite of products, serves approximately 8,000 members in five key Bay Area counties: Marin, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, and Sonoma. "We are excited to partner with Clareity and offer their suite of products to our members. Clareity's SSO Dashboard will provide BAREIS members increased efficiency and convenience in a secure and modern interface," said KB Walter, CEO of BAREIS MLS® Clareity's SSO service creates significant subscriber convenience, drives adoption of third party applications, and centralizes subscriber access under a single login. SSO eliminates the need to remember multiple passwords and logins creating a seamless workflow for subscribers. SafeMLS™ PLUS risk management-based authentication suite combines advanced analytics and a zero-footprint solution to accurately identify, and automatically remediate, accounts at higher risk for sharing and unauthorized access. About Bay Area Real Estate Information Services, Inc.BAREIS MLS® is the broker-owned multiple listing service serving real estate professionals throughout the beautiful Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Solano, and Mendocino counties in Northern California. Since 1997, BAREIS MLS® has provided members with personalized service and support, accurate and extensive listing data, broad listing distribution, and powerful technology tools. BAREIS MLS members enjoy access to property data throughout California and across the nation, ensuring BAREIS' members remain their clients' trusted advisor for the North Bay and beyond. For more information, visit http://bareis.com. About ClareityClareity is the leading provider of security products and single sign-on services for the real estate and brokerage industries. Based upon 13 years of innovation and experience, Clareity offers multiple products including SafeMLS™ PLUS , Single Sign-On Dashboards, DASH!™ for Brokers, Clareity Direct Connections™, the vendor network Discover, and more. Clareity currently services over 850,000 real estate professionals in North America.

Personal Safety Company Guard Llama Scores Deal on ABC’s 'Shark Tank'
  WASHINGTON (April 17, 2017) – With an offer of $100,000 from investor Barbara Corcoran, 2015 REach real estate technology accelerator participant and personal safety device company, Guard Llama, is officially a part of "Shark Tank" television history. Guard Llama offers a mobile personal security system that expedites the 9-1-1 dispatching process when dialing 9-1-1 is not possible. This technology caught the attention of the National Association of Realtors®' strategic investment arm, Second Century Ventures, which announced in 2015 that Guard Llama had been added to its growth technology accelerator program known as REach. NAR President William E. Brown, a second-generation Realtor® from Alamo, California and founder of Investment Properties, congratulated the company on making their case before the Shark Tank panelists. "The Guard Llama team should be proud of their accomplishment," he said. "Pitching a product is no small task, especially in front of well-known business leaders on national television, but the Guard Llama team did fantastic." NAR is committed to the safety and well-being of its members, and established the REALTOR® Safety Program to empower and inform members of the potential risks they face in this profession as well as how to navigate them safely. According to NAR's 2016 Member Safety Report, while 95 percent of Realtors® have never been the victim of crime, 39 percent have found themselves in situations where they have feared for their safety or the safety of their personal information. Smart phone apps and devices are among the popular safety tools for real estate agents. Guard Llama CEO Joe Parisi said that while the "Shark Tank" experience was intense, the event marked a real opportunity for his company. "Anytime someone recognizes the value in your product and says they want to put an investment behind it, that's a good day," he said. "Having a celebrity businessperson do it on a national stage like "Shark Tank" is just extraordinary. This represented a chance to showcase what Guard Llama is doing to help make the world safer, and we're looking forward to the good work we have ahead of us." Additional information on Guard Llama's products and services is available on their website, guardllama.com/how-it-works/. The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Second Century Ventures Invests in Trust Stamp and Keeping Realtors Safe
  CHICAGO, Nov. 16, 2016 -- The National Association of Realtors®' venture capital fund Second Century Ventures has become a strategic investor in Trust Stamp, an identity authentication company that leverages artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies. Trust Stamp, a startup founded in 2015 by Gareth Genner and Andrew Gowasack, is one of eight companies that entered SCV's vertical tech accelerator program, REach®, earlier this year. The company uses patented artificial intelligence software to analyze hundreds of public records and social data to quickly provide reliable identification verification for real estate professionals meeting new clients or unknown individuals. Trust Stamp combines driver's license analysis and proof-of-liveness photographic identification techniques with data from more than 200 social media sites and public records, including criminal and sex offender databases, to verify an individuals' identity and create a trustworthiness score. Trust Stamp has clients across multiple industries, including a major U.S. bank, and is launching a Facebook app to help consumers safely buy and sell in their local community through the new Facebook Marketplace feature. Trust Stamp is also a pioneer in the field of blockchain technology and is able to store and access data using techniques that are immune to the distributed denial of service, or DDoS, attacks that are plaguing many major internet companies. "Second Century Ventures aims to develop and deliver technologies to innovate the real estate industry and help realty professionals to best serve buyers, sellers and clients," said President William E. Brown, a Realtor® from Alamo, California and founder of Investment Properties. "Investing in a fast, convenient and affordable tool like Trust Stamp to establish the identity and trustworthiness of a stranger will better help Realtors® stay safe and protect clients and their home or property." Trust Stamp has created a real estate-specific webpage and mobile apps that are available only to NAR members and accessible via their NRDS number. Using the webpage or app, agents enter an individual's email address or cell phone number and invite them to make a Trust Stamp. It takes only a few minutes for an individual to create a basic profile with a photo of his or her driver's license, a selfie and links to one or more social accounts. Agents receive notification when the Trust Stamp is complete along with the individual's verified name, photo and trustworthiness score. "While our technology is in demand in many industries, REach offered us a unique opportunity to work directly with industry professionals to design a product that precisely matched he needs of real estate professionals," said Andrew Gowasack, CEO of Trust Stamp. "As a result of that iterative discovery process, there is an overwhelming demand for Trust Stamp amongst the Realtor®community and we estimate that over half a million Realtors® will have installed the Trust Stamp application within 12 months of launch." According to NAR's 2016 Member Safety Report, which asked members how safe they feel on the job, while 96 percent of Realtors®have never been the victim of crime, nearly 40 percent have found themselves in situations where they have feared for their safety or the safety of their personal information. The most common fearful situations were at open houses, showing vacant and model homes, working with properties that were unlocked or unsecured, and showing properties in remote areas. "Most real estate professionals are juggling multiple business and client priorities and nearly always on the go; this makes an easy-to-use online and mobile tool – that's also powerful – ideal to improve their business and personal safety," said Dale Stinton, SCV president and NAR CEO. "Investing further in Trust Stamp, from a REach accelerator company to now a member of our strategic investments portfolio, demonstrates how much Trust Stamp has impressed us and how well we think the tool will do in the real estate industry and beyond." For more information about Trust Stamp's tool for real estate agents, visit truststamp.net/re. About Second Century VenturesSecond Century Ventures (SCV) is an early-stage technology fund, backed by the National Association of Realtors®, which leverages the association's 1.1 million members and an unparalleled network of executives within real estate and adjacent industries. SCV systematically launches its portfolio companies into the world's largest industries including real estate, financial services, banking, home services, and insurance. SCV seeks to define and deliver the future of the world's largest industries by being a catalyst for new technologies, new opportunities, and new talent. Learn more at www.secondcenturyventures.com. About National Association of Realtors®The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1.1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

CRMLS Extends Partnership with Clareity Security
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Clareity Security LLC is excited to announce its renewed partnership with long-time customer California Regional MLS, CRMLS. This extension will continue the over 10-year relationship between Clareity and CRMLS. Clareity first began working with this organization in the pre-CRMLS days, back when it was SoCal MLS and MRMLS. Due to this long-standing relationship, CRMLS has played a vital role in helping innovate many of Clareity's software products. "CRMLS has not only been a loyal customer, but a true contributor to the Clareity brand and our products. Art Carter and his team have established themselves as true industry leaders and we're proud to see many MLSs follow in their footsteps," said Amy Gorce, President of Clareity. California Regional MLS is the largest MLS in the world with over 78,000 subscribers. CRMLS proudly uses two of Clareity's products: SAFEMLS PLUS and its Single Sign-On, SSO, Dashboard. As a method of demonstrating shareholder value to their local associations, CRMLS provides association branded dashboards to 38 shareholder associations. Later this summer, CRMLS will begin rolling out Broker Dashboards to interested brokers in their market. "Clareity has been an invaluable partner through the years in securing access to our services," said Art Carter, CEO of CRMLS. "Clareity brings a wealth of knowledge and innovation to our partnership. The SSO Dashboards have introduced an increase in end user convenience and improved the way we communicate with our subscribers." With SAFEMLS PLUS, Clareity monitors the MLS login security for every CRMLS subscriber ensuring the safest and most secure MLS access available. The sophisticated zero footprint solution provides the perfect balance of convenience and security, while ensuring only authorized users have access to valuable MLS resources. According to Clarity and CRMLS, both look forward to this relationship extension and are excited to leverage the technology to deliver the products and services of the future. For more information about Clarity Security or our MLS and Association products, visit clareitysecurity.com. About Clareity Security Clareity Security is the leading provider of security products and single sign-on services for the real estate and brokerage industries. Through innovation and over ten years of experience, Clareity Security offers multiple products including SAFEMLS PLUS, Single Sign-On Dashboards, Clareity Direct Connections, the vendor network Discover, and more. Clarity Security currently services over 675,000 real estate professionals in North America.

New Study on Web Scraping of Real Estate Websites Shows Serious Cause for Concern
SAN FRANCISCO, California, Oct. 7, 2015 — Distil Networks, Inc., the global leader in bot detection and mitigation, and Clareity Consulting, the premier technical consulting firm for the real estate industry, today announced the, "2015 Study on Real Estate Website Scraping and MLS Data Security." The report examines two surveys that sought to understand the barriers to adoption of anti-scraping technology - one with Multiple Listing Service (MLS) executives, and another with the owners of companies that provide Internet Data Exchange (IDX) websites and Virtual Office Websites (VOW). "The real estate industry faces serious challenges with intellectual property infringement via web scraping, yet they've been slow to adopt effective anti-scraping tools," said Rami Essaid, co-founder and CEO of Distil Networks. "Scrapers use bots to grab online real estate content, like property listings, and then create derivative products such as lead gen programs and appraisal data." The study reveals the perceptions of MLS and IDX executives regarding web scraping and how each member of the MLS data supply chain can align to protect the integrity of real estate industry data. The Findings MLS Executives - One hundred MLS executives responded to the survey, representing over half a million MLS members, brokers, and agents. 99 percent of MLS executives say compliance with rules protecting misuse of MLS data is important and 95 percent agree that IDX sites should be subject to rules specifically mandating anti-scraping protections. 98 percent of respondents want a set of standardized tests to facilitate anti-scraping compliance reviews, yet no test currently exists. 94 percent of MLS executives indicate a vendor's information security practices and sophistication of anti-scraping technology are important to them when selecting a technology vendor. IDX/VOW Vendors - 14 vendors representing over 400,000 websites were surveyed. IDX and VOW vendors operate on behalf of the MLS to serve agent sites and other websites that display and syndicate MLS listing data. Prior to this study, 43 percent of IDX/VOW vendors surveyed were not aware of how pervasive bots and scraping were across the entire industry. 62 percent rated compliance with MLS rules as the most important factor in having IDX/VOW vendors implement an anti-scraping solution. Only 17 percent of IDX/VOW vendors are using a commercial service to protect against scraping. Some are using services with limited protection, especially against sophisticated web scraping bots. "Most IDX/VOW vendors are using reactive monitoring mechanisms and other outdated methods to stop scrapers, which are not effective against today's nefarious actors. For those attempting to implement proactive tools to combat scraping, almost all indicated they were using old IP-address-based methods, like rate limiting, CAPTCHAs, web application firewalls and IP blocking services. On their own, these methods are not effective," said Matt Cohen for Clareity Consulting. "Based on the near unanimous support for rule changes and a standard for testing compliance, combined with advances in affordable anti-scraper services available, there is a path forward for the industry to solve the scraping problem once and for all." Resources To download a copy of the full report, visit: 2015 Study: State of Web Scraping Data Theft Across Real Estate Websites & MLS Data To view a recent webinar, titled "Ensuring Real Estate Website Listing Data Security," visit: http://bit.ly/1Lu4ucQ For more information and case studies: http://resources.distilnetworks.com/h/c/175726-real-estate About Distil Networks Distil Networks, the global leader in bot detection and mitigation, is the first easy and accurate way to identify and police malicious website traffic, blocking 99.9% of bad bots without impacting legitimate users. Distil protects against web scraping, brute force attacks, competitive data mining, account hijacking, unauthorized vulnerability scans, spam, man-in-the-middle attacks and click fraud. Slash the high tax that bots place on your internal teams and web infrastructure by outsourcing the problem to the team with a maniacal focus on blocking malicious bots. For more information on Distil Networks, visit us at http://www.distilnetworks.com or follow @DISTIL on twitter. About Clareity Consulting Clareity Consulting provides management and information technology consulting for the real estate and related industries. Clients include software and service providers, Multiple Listing Services (MLS), real estate associations, franchises, and brokers. Specialties include strategic and business planning, system selection, compliance and risk audits, software product planning and review, and public speaking. More information: http://clareity.com

Majority of Realtors® Feel Safe on the Job, According to New Survey
  WASHINGTON, March 2, 2015 -- A new survey from the National Association of Realtors® found 96 percent of Realtors® have never been the victim of crime, but 40 percent have found themselves in situations where they have feared for their safety or the safety of their personal information. Some of the most common circumstances that resulted in fearful situations were open houses, showing vacant and model homes, working with properties that were unlocked or unsecured and showing homes in remote areas. "When I became NAR president last year, I pledged to make Realtor® safety a priority and develop new education and resources for the industry," said NAR President Chris Polychron, executive broker with 1st Choice Realty in Hot Springs, Ark. "It is important to know how safe or unsafe our members feel, what causes them to feel unsafe, and what steps they are taking to keep themselves out of harm's way, so that we can respond and provide the best tools tailored to our members' personal safety needs." The survey asked members how safe they feel while on the job and nearly 3,000 Realtors® from across the U.S. answered questions about their personal experiences, and the safety procedures and materials provided by their brokerage. The survey found that one-third of surveyed members carry a self-defense weapon. Female Realtors® are more likely to carry pepper spray, while male Realtors® more commonly carry a firearm. Many agents, 38 percent, have participated in self-defense classes as a proactive safety measure, and 13 percent use a smart phone safety application to track their whereabouts or alert colleagues of an emergency. Also, before showing a property, the typical Realtor® meets about half of their prospective buyers, whom they haven't previously met, in a real estate office or other neutral location. Many Realtor® associations, real estate brokerages and offices also make safety resources available to agents. Eighteen percent of members have participated in safety courses provided by their Realtor® association. Forty-six percent of respondents said their brokerage has standard procedures for agent safety in place; however, 54 percent said their brokerage either had no safety measures in place or they were not aware of them. The safety of its members is a top priority for NAR, and the association will continue to expand its Realtor® Safety Program in 2015 by unveiling new materials and applications for members and associations throughout the year. NAR established the Realtor® Safety Program to empower and inform members of the potential risks they face in this profession and how to navigate them safely. Webinars, safety materials and tips are all made available through the program, with the entire month of September dedicated to bringing more awareness to Realtor® safety among members. The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries. Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the "News, Blogs and Videos" tab on the website.

Homesnap Introduces New Mobile Safety Features for Real Estate Agents
Bethesda, Md. – December 15, 2014 —Homesnap has just launched an agent Safety Timer and Distress Alert in its mobile agent-only Homesnap Pro app that are intended to keep agents safe when they are showing homes to unfamiliar clients. Homesnap's Safety Timer allows an agent to set a timer when he or she arrives at a showing. If the agent does not stop the timer after a set amount of time, Homesnap will issue a text alert to the agent's emergency contacts, letting them know the agent's current location and cell number. In the case of immediate distress, the agent can activate a Distress Alert in one tap that immediately alerts contacts that the agent is in danger. These features are being introduced at a time when there is increased focus on agent safety, particularly after the tragic death of Arkansas broker Beverly Carter last October. Homesnap saw the need to provide agents, brokers and MLSs with an effective, simple tool that helps address situations where agents' safety may be at risk. Homesnap Pro's Safety Timer and Distress Alert are easy to use: When an agent arrives at a listing, he or she opens the listing in Homesnap Pro and taps on the Safety Timer button to get started. The agent then inputs how long he or she plans to be at that location, selects emergency contacts to notify if the timer expires, and starts the timer. Homesnap will notify the agent when time is running low. At that time, the agent can either extend or stop the timer. If the timer expires, Homesnap will issue a text alert to the agent's emergency contacts with his or her current address and cell phone number. In case of distress, the agent can send a text message in one tap using the Distress Alert button. "Agent safety is a huge priority for agents, brokers and MLSs. Homesnap Pro is used by thousands of agents every day, and we set out to provide a simple but effective way for agents to let their network know if they might need help, within the app the agents are already using to do their jobs. These new features use GPS to locate the agent and provide text alerts and a distress button in case of danger without requiring agents to open a second app," said Homesnap CEO and co-founder Guy Wolcott. "Homesnap Pro's new agent safety feature is a simple, easy way to make your contacts aware of your location if you find yourself in an unexpected or difficult situation. I will feel more comfortable showing a home with Homesnap Pro now that it has the safety timer. It works using GPS, so it keeps track of where you are, and you can activate the safety feature by simply checking in at a home or snapping the home when you go to show it," said Kim Caspari, a REALTOR with Keller Williams Realty, Inc. in Baltimore, MD. To learn more about Homesnap Pro's new safety features, please visit www.homesnap.com/pro/safety. ABOUT HOMESNAP PRO Homesnap Pro gives agents the ability to access real-time MLS information from their mobile phones and tablets. It also lets agents connect with and collaborate with each other and their clients within the same app. It is the professional version of the popular consumer app Homesnap, which lets users "snap any home to find out about it". Millions of consumers use Homesnap to explore homes and search listings. It is powered by a specialized homes database that combines MLS data, property tax records, census data, geographic boundaries and more. Homesnap Pro is available to agents once their MLS has partnered with Homesnap to provide the app to its members. Homesnap Pro is currently available to agents from MLSs across the country, including MRIS, TheMLS, and MLSListings Inc, among many others. Homesnap Pro is free to any MLS for the first 12 months. Some of the features of Homesnap Pro include: Real-time access to agent-only MLS information, including confidential listing information, showing instructions and commission splits Information about any home (whether or not for sale), such as value, last sale date and price, listing history, "bird's eye" lot boundaries, similar active listings, recent sales comps, and local schools One-tap messaging with clients and other agents Customized email marketing to clients and contacts Rapid Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) generation right from the smartphone Complete details on every agent in the area, including a portfolio of recent sales and an analysis of sales history (price reduction, days on market, etc.) In-app integration with ShowingTime showing scheduling for participating listings Agent Safety Timer and one-tap Distress Alert to keep agents safe at showings To learn more about Homesnap Pro, please visit homesnap.com/pro. To learn more about Homesnap's MLS offering, please visit homesnap.com/mls.

Move, Inc. Websites Stable, Strengthened
Last week Move, Inc. experienced a malicious Internet attack that made realtor.com®, Top Producer®, and other Move websites temporarily inaccessible. This distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack generated massive amounts of Internet traffic directed at the websites Move operates. The good news is that the websites have been stable since Saturday, June 21, and we have taken steps to strengthen them by working with security experts at Akamai Technologies' Prolexic division. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Since the attack, we have greatly increased our websites' protection. Unfortunately, these types of attacks are becoming more common for online businesses. We weren't the first, and sadly, we won't be the last company to be targeted. This was a frustrating experience, but we have no reason to believe this attack jeopardized any consumer information, customer information, or website security. More good news is that we're continuing to release products, such as the new realtor.com® Mortgage Application, to generate leads for REALTORS®, and to help customers manage their businesses. Our goal is to continue to provide outstanding products and services for our customers and consumers. Thank you for all the encouraging emails and calls during this time. We wish we could thank you all individually!

DocuSign Trust Network™ Delivers Secure Platform for Global Business Transactions
SAN FRANCISCO, and ASPEN, Colo.--DocuSign, The Global Standard for eSignature®, announced the DocuSign Trust Network™, a suite of best-of-breed services to protect the authenticity, reliability, and security of all documents signed in the DocuSign Cloud. The DocuSign Trust Network builds on the company's industry-leading security to provide the most robust security, user identification and authentication for electronic transactions. As the world moves to the cloud, consumers and global enterprises are asking for more assurance than ever that their information, data, and documents are private and safe. The DocuSign Trust Network delivers proprietary security services developed by DocuSign and integrated leading third-party services to ensure transactions are secure, and recipients can be authenticated using the most appropriate method for the transaction. "Trust is the fundamental currency of the digital economy," said Tom Gonser, chief strategy officer, DocuSign. "Our customers – and their customers – count on DocuSign to perform mission-critical business transactions every day. If an app, site, or cloud service provider does not make safety, security, and reliability their top priorities, they will not survive the scrutiny of customers and stakeholders. The DocuSign Trust Network shows our commitment to making our platform the most trusted foundation for every business transaction." The DocuSign Trust Network ensures safe and secure cloud transactions with a suite of services: Identity Proofing Tools – Integrated services that allow initiators of transactions or senders of documents to verify the identity of recipients using several different options including knowledge-based authentication, phone authentication, one-time passwords, social authentication, and other account credential authorizations. Self-Reliant Documents – Documents generated by DocuSign are digitally sealed using industry standard digital certificate technology, making them tamper-evident and self-reliant so they can stand on their own outside the DocuSign eSignature transaction management platform. Secure Transaction History – DocuSign encrypts and makes all documents secure during the transaction, and stores an audit trail to capture every step throughout the process. Data collected includes IP address, email address, geo-location, time stamps, and ID proofing results. This information is collected for every action for every signer, and continues even after the transaction is completed. Digital Credentials – DocuSign has announced support for persistent digital credentials based on industry-standard X.509 certificates. Solutions include SAFE-BioPharma digital credentials used in the pharmaceutical industry, and the DocuSign Digital ID in partnership with ARX. DocuSign Identify Proofing API (ID/API) – Available in the DocuSign Fall '13 Release, the DocuSign ID/API will allow any approved third-party identity proofing service providers to make their identity proofing services available to users of the DocuSign Cloud. This way leading identity proofing tools can be easily used in any transaction in the DocuSign Cloud without custom integration. "DocuSign's commitment to safety, security, and reliability for its entire stakeholder ecosystem shows that it prioritizes trust in every customer interaction," said David Horsager, author, The Trust Edge. "DocuSign is the leader in electronic signatures because it balances the highest level of security for its clients with delivering unchallenged speed and ease of use. Users should have absolute confidence in the technology when they 'DocuSign' any document or transaction." "We invested more than $100 million in our eSignature transaction management platform, and continue to prioritize innovations that build trust at every stage of the business transaction," commented Tom Pageler, chief information security officer, DocuSign. "Consumers, individual professionals, and businesses of every size and industry can be completely confident of the privacy and safety the DocuSign Trust Network brings to their data, documents, and transactions." The DocuSign Trust Network runs as a core component of the company's eSignature transaction management platform infrastructure. This includes DocuSign's SSAE 16 examination, which had no exceptions for the third year in a row, as well as the company's ISO/IEC 27001:2005 certification as an information security management system and TRUSTe certification. DocuSign's solution is fully compliant with ESIGN, UETA, ETSI, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), CFR21 part 11, and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) as both a merchant and a service provider. Learn more about how DocuSign provides a secure platform to support trust at http://trust.docusign.com. About DocuSign Inc. DocuSign® is the leader in eSignature transaction management and the global standard for eSignature. Global enterprises, business departments, individual professionals and consumers are standardising on DocuSign, with more than 60,000 new users joining the DocuSign Global Network every day. Today, that network includes more than 40 million users in 188 countries. DocuSign is used to accelerate transaction times to increase speed to results, reduce costs, and delight customers across nearly every industry – from financial services, insurance, technology, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, property management and consumer goods, to higher education and others. For more information, visit www.docusign.com or call 877.720.2040.

Authentisign Speeds Real Estate Transactions
Guest Contributor Kay Pratt of RE/MAX sends us a great testimonial about Authentisign offered by Instanet Solutions.  Kay says: I have been using Authentisign for over two years now to speed the processing of real estate transactions for my clients. As most everyone knows, real estate transactions require a TON of paperwork. There are offers to sign, along with counteroffers, addendums, treatments, repairs and replacements (TRR) documents, contract extensions, etc. And this is all BEFORE the closing occurs. In the past the fax machine was our best friend. I would constantly be faxing documents for clients to sign, picked up and transferring signed documents, and trying to keep track which document was the latest version. The entire process was very inefficient and was especially problematic when clients were out of town or worse yet, traveling for work. If clients were in Edmond the process wasn’t bad, and even in the Oklahoma City metro area it was workable, but if a client was moving from California and buying a house in Oklahoma, the process was very cumbersome. Clients would have to find a fax machine, which can be challenging on weekends or late at night, print the document, sign it, then fax it back to me. I would have to sign it, scan it, then email it to the other Realtor. The entire process was challenging at best. All of my real estate documents are kept in a program called Transaction Desk, and I could quickly create a document there and send it to Authentisign for digital signatures. In Authentisign I set up the emails of my clients and anyone else who may need to sign a document, load the document, and then send it for digital signature. Authentisign then sends an email to my client with a link to a signature page. They create a login and Authentisign handles the digital signature and ensures everything is secure, encrypted and legal for use in Oklahoma. This has significantly sped up the signing of documents, especially for distant or traveling clients. My clients LOVE the process since it is so much faster and more efficient than tracking down a fax machine. All the documents are kept in Transaction Desk so we can pull them up at any time, send them via email or fax, or just save and/or print them if needed. And since real estate transactions are time sensitive, this makes sure we meet our deadlines and don’t default on a contract offer." To View The Original Blog Post Click Here! To Learn More About Authentisign and Instanet Solutions Please Click Here!