Cloudstar, a company that operates five data centers and provides support to more than 42,000 title and settlement professionals throughout the U.S., is the latest victim of a “highly sophisticated ransomware attack.”
The company released a statement on Sun., July 18 announcing the cyber attack.
The details:
– Cloudstar’s systems are currently down, except for its Office 365 mail services, email encryption offering and some support services.
– The company has hired third-party forensics experts Tetra Defense to assist in recovery efforts. Cloudstar has also reached out to law enforcement and is negotiating with those behind the attack.
The takeaway:
The pause in services could have severe impacts for an industry that’s having to keep up with the ongoing churn of property closings amid this bustling market.
“Ransomware attack against of the main title industry cloud hosting providers is going to create utter havoc to the lending industry on Monday when consumers find out they can’t close,” Sterbcow Law Group Partner Marx Sterbcow posted on Twitter. “Dual cloud hosting may now be a requirement for title agencies.”
“We have informed all of our customers and are committed to helping them through this and working in the best interest of the industry,” Cloudstar’s website states. “We will continue to investigate this incident and provide updates to our customers as we have additional information to share.”
The cyber attack is the latest in a string of online crimes, with Ransomware the preferred program for holding digital information hostage, according to CNBC. In 2020 alone, victims paid nearly $350 million worth of cryptocurrency in ransom.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to RISMedia for more updates.
