Last Month it was Fidelity; Now it is First American

Two of the largest real estate title insurance companies in the United States seem to be having a problem keeping their customers’ data secure.

Last month Fidelity Title took its systems offline for a week or two as they wrestled with a cyberattack that delayed real estate closings and forced lenders to resort to manual processes.

Real estate software provider MeridianLink was hit by a cyberattack earlier this fall, as were Tipalti and Moneris.

ICBC, one of the world’s largest banks was admitted to a ransomware attack last month.

Last week mortgage lender and servicer Mr. Cooper admitted that hackers stole data on 14 million current and former customers.

Now it is First American’s turn.

First American is Fidelity’s biggest competitor in the real estate title and settlement services business with revenue last year of around $7 billion.

Earlier this month First American agreed to pay New York a million dollar fine for an earlier breach. Now they are starting all over again.

First American has not filed its mandatory breach report with the SEC yet. They have 96 hours from when they determine the attack is material. It is highly unlikely that they will be able to say this attack is not material, but we don’t know yet.

Can you detect a trend here? Seems like financial service firms are under attack and the attackers seem to be winning.

Why are they winning? One part is size. While size gives you resources, it also makes protecting yourself is actually harder. Another part is old software which is hard to maintain. User training – or lack thereof – is also a challenge. And hackers, who are using AI among other tools, are getting better.

If you are in financial services and are concerned whether you are ready to repel a cyberattack, please contact us.

Credit: The Record

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