(Illustration by The Real Deal)
In 2018, the company that manages the Brooklyn condominium where cybersecurity expert Roman Sannikov lives was hacked.
The hacker locked down the property manager’s IT system and demanded the company pay a ransom to get back in. Sannikov, who leads a team of analysts scouring the dark web for intel on cybercrime and hacktivism, wasn’t personally affected by the breach; he pays his maintenance fees the old-fashioned way: by check. But as a member of the condo’s board, he had to notify residents and contend with the aftermath.
Yet Sannikov found that many of his neighbors simply shrugged off the news. “People didn’t pay attention to [it] as much as they should have,” he said.
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What would you do if your Social Security number, address, financial data and other sensitive information were compromised?
For some of the thousands of New Yorkers who may be in that position after a data breach at Douglas Elliman Property Management, the answer so far appears to be one of understanding even as some cybersecurity experts and industry veterans sound an alarm.
Leonard Steinberg, a Compass agent who sits on condo boards at two buildings run by Elliman’s property management arm, said the breach is a wake-up call about the importance of data security. Still, he doesn’t see it as threatening the company’s reputation.
(Getty, iStock/Illustration by Alexis Manrodt for The Real Deal)
As more New Yorkers become eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine, some condominiums and cooperatives are considering whether to mandate that building workers be inoculated.
Attorney Leni Morrison Cummins of Cozen O’Connor said she has begun drafting vaccination policies for a handful of the 75 condominium and cooperative boards she represents.
“I am recommending that boards consider adopting a policy,” she said. “You have every legal right.”
Such policies would apply to doormen, building managers, security guards, cleaners and contractors. Though all have been considered essential workers and exempt from the state’s stay-at-home orders, they were not eligible for vaccination until this week.