JLL hired Joe Silva as chief information security officer, a new role at the firm, to lead cybersecurity strategy.
Silva’s first day was on Sept. 7, a company spokesperson said.
Silva’s duties will include threat management as well as oversight of security policies, procedures and prevention efforts, the firm said. He will coordinate the firm’s global technology teams, including the JLL Technologies business division focused on commercial real estate technology.
Previously, Silva led cybersecurity, insider risk and product security at TransUnion, the credit reporting agency. Prior to that, Silva worked on the commercial product side of cybersecurity at Symantec and iSight Partners.
The hire comes during a transitional period for the commercial real estate industry, as more and more of the business becomes data driven, technology-enabled and stored on the cloud. Real estate companies work with a range of vendors and other counter-parties and each transaction presents a window of opportunity for a cyber attack.
Marcus & Millichap, the Calabasas, California-based commercial real estate brokerage, said in September that it had been the target of an attack. Essential systems were restored and secured “with no material disruption to the business,” the company said in a filing.
Unique cybersecurity incidents rose 51 percent in 2020 as remote work became the norm during the Covid lockdown, according to research by cybersecurity company Positive Technologies. About 86 percent of the attacks targeted organizations.
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UPDATE: This story has been updated to add background on cyber-security attacks.