Fidelity National Financial, also known as FNF, a prominent real estate services company specializing in title insurance and escrow services, disclosed a cyberattack it experienced last Tuesday.
Following the announcement, homeowners with mortgages and potential property buyers associated with FNF or its numerous subsidiaries found themselves in a state of confusion and concern, uncertain about the ongoing situation and next steps to take.
Expressing her frustration, a woman who recently sold a property using IPX 1031, an FNF-owned intermediary, shared, “I feel like I’m getting the runaround. I don’t even know where my money is at,”
The woman, who opted to remain anonymous, detailed her unsuccessful attempts to contact IPX 1031 and the unavailability of any assistance from their end.
Upon calling a number associated with an IPX 1031 employee, a voicemail indicated, “Fidelity National Financial is still experiencing a system wide outage. We do not have access to send or receive email or access to any system. We appreciate your patience.”
Despite reaching out for comments, FNF has not responded to TechCrunch’s emails since the previous week.
Subsequent attempts to contact FNF’s corporate office met with an automated message stating the receptionist’s unavailability.
Contact Us
Do you have more information about this data breach? We’d love to hear from you. From a non-work device, contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram, Keybase and Wire @lorenzofb, or email [email protected]. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.
FNF’s website was inaccessible at the time of this publication.
As of now, FNF has given limited public statements about the incident. In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, FNF stated, “We blocked access to certain of our systems, which resulted in disruptions to our business. For example, the services we provide related to title insurance, escrow and other title-related services, mortgage transaction services, and technology to the real estate and mortgage industries, have been affected by these measures.”
Christine Youmans, a mortgage payer through LoanCare, an FNF-owned entity, expressed her distress stating, “Everything is shut down and no one can pay the mortgage and you can’t get them on the phone.”
An automated message on the LoanCare contact number reassured, “For those of you impacted by the recent catastrophe, we hope you and your family are safe. We are here to help you and your family return to normal.”
Shortly after the cyberattack, the ransomware group known as ALPHV (or BlackCat) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on FNF in a message posted on the group’s official dark web site.