The REALTOR® to REALTOR® Series: What Real Estate Pros Can Learn From MLS Cyberattack

The cyberattack on MLS vendor Rapattoni, which took down 23 MLSs nationwide for weeks in August, has left real estate agents and brokers wondering how they can prepare for the next time something like this happens. (After all, hackers are virtually guaranteed to target MLSs again in the future.) Podcast host Marki Lemons Ryhal speaks with two members of NAR’s MLS Technology and Emerging Issues Advisory Board, who delve into the issue and offer cybersecurity action items real estate pros can take now.

Meet the guests:

Jeffrey Levine, ABR, CRS, an associate broker and director of productivity at Keller Williams Realty Service in Boca Raton, Fla., serves as the chair of the MLS Advisory Board. He previously served as chair of NAR’s MLS Issues and Policy Committee. Levine, who began his real estate career more than 22 years ago in New Jersey before moving to Florida, has overseen 10,000 real estate sales transactions and thousands of leases totaling over $3 billion in volume.

Andy Bencosme, CRB, is a member of the MLS Advisory Board and the principal broker and co-owner of Century 21 Village Realty in Sierra Madre, Calif. He also serves as the current chair of NAR’s MLS Issues and Policy Committee. Bencosme has previously served as the chairman of the board for the California Regional Multiple Listing Service—the largest MLS in the nation—and he is an adjunct professor of real estate at Mt. San Antonio College. He has been recognized twice as the REALTOR® of the Year by his local board, the Arcadia Association of REALTORS®.

This episode is sponsored by:

Podcast Transcript: