Cyber Risk Becomes the Leading Threat to Spanish Companies: Implications for the Real Estate Sector

31/10/2025 – ⏱ 4 min

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute, under any circumstances, investment advice or a recommendation.

Cyber risk has overtaken economic and regulatory concerns as the top threat for Spanish executives, according to the 2025 Global Risk Management Survey by Aon. The report —which compiles responses from over 3,000 senior executives across 61 countries— shows that cybersecurity incidents are now the most significant operational risk for companies in Spain, ahead of inflation and macroeconomic slowdown.

The findings align with a global trend: as organizations digitize their operations and depend increasingly on cloud-based systems, the frequency and impact of cyberattacks have risen sharply. In Spain, this shift is particularly relevant for sectors that were once less exposed to digital risk, such as real estate and property development, which now rely heavily on technology platforms, investor data systems, and online transaction infrastructure.

The rapid digital transformation of real estate has expanded its attack surface. From crowdfunding and crowdlending platforms to tokenization services, real estate portals, asset managers, and developers using cloud infrastructure, every layer of this ecosystem stores sensitive information —financial records, identities, and investment structures— that has become a prime target for cybercriminals.

A Threat That Goes Beyond Bricks and Mortar

In a sector built on trust, a cybersecurity breach can have consequences far beyond reputation. It can directly affect asset value, investor confidence, and even project viability. For real estate investment platforms —where digital custody, identity verification, and financial flows are fully online— a single vulnerability can disrupt operations and expose both investors and promoters to financial loss.

Spain’s National Cryptologic Centre (CCN-CERT), part of the intelligence agency CNI, managed over 107,000 cybersecurity incidents in 2023, according to the National Security Department (DSN) —a 9% increase year-on-year. In parallel, the National Cybersecurity Institute (INCIBE) handled more than 97,000 incidents affecting citizens and businesses in 2024, confirming a sustained upward trend. The most frequent attacks included ransomware, credential theft, identity spoofing, and breaches in corporate cloud services.

The combination of accelerated digitalization and limited preparedness makes real estate firms a growing target. Many companies have integrated payment gateways, KYC verification systems, and APIs without adopting external security audits or business continuity plans. This imbalance between innovation and protection has become a key concern for regulators, insurers, and institutional investors alike.

The DORA Regulation and the Move Toward Cyber Resilience

From January 2025, the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) enters full application across the European Union, setting stringent standards for digital resilience and incident management in financial institutions and critical technology providers. While non-financial real estate platforms are not directly covered by DORA, market observers expect similar requirements to extend progressively to digital intermediaries handling sensitive financial data.

Real estate is no longer a purely physical business. The flow of digital information —on ownership, transactions, and investor records— has become an integral component of asset value. Compliance with frameworks like DORA or ISO/IEC 27001 is emerging as a prerequisite for attracting institutional capital and ensuring traceability in investment platforms.

Technology, Trust, and the Digital Investor

Digital trust is now a strategic asset. In a market where most interactions —from electronic signatures to fund transfers— occur online, investors demand guarantees about data integrity and transaction security.

Spain’s real estate sector, which managed more than €12.9 billion in investment through September 2025 (according to Colliers), is moving toward deeper technological professionalization. The adoption of secure architectures, external audits, and distributed ledger technology (DLT) for recording investment shares is gradually becoming an industry standard within the growing proptech ecosystem.

As retail investors gain access to real estate through digital platforms, expectations for transparency and verification are rising. Projects that integrate certified cybersecurity systems and verifiable custody mechanisms will enjoy a clear competitive advantage.

The New Paradigm: Digitalization Without Compromising Security

For Spanish real estate, the challenge is not only to grow but to do so on a secure digital foundation. Cyber risk is no longer a distant possibility —it is a business variable. The industry must now focus on building infrastructures capable of resisting disruptions and ensuring operational continuity in fully digital environments.

In this context, investment platforms must balance innovation with security, transparency, and regulatory compliance. Trust —once synonymous with the solidity of bricks and mortar— is now equally measured in the resilience of code.

Realty Investor: A Project in Progress

Realty Investor is developing a digital platform that will centralize all real estate crowdfunding and crowdlending opportunities in a single environment. Its goal is to allow investors to discover, compare, and invest in projects from one application, with verified information, comparable metrics, and an optimized mobile experience.
The project is currently under development, led by a team specialized in investment and real estate.
Join the founder list and get one month of free early access to the app.

Realty Investor

Your real estate crowdfunding, in one app.

Discover new opportunities. Invest through leading platforms. Manage your whole property portfolio from a single place.

The Realty Investor beta is now available. Explore the market, discover new projects and get to know the platform with simulated money, without putting in any capital.

Download the beta and start discovering a new way to manage your real estate investments.