search

The Real Deal Logo

Trending

Roscoe Village sellers first to try removing buyer agent commission Roscoe Village sellers first to try removing buyer agent commission The WeWork deal: What was Yardi thinking?The WeWork deal: What was Yardi thinking?Arbor modifies $1.9B in loans as delinquencies keep risingArbor modifies $1.9B in loans as delinquencies keep risingHoward Lutnick talks bank failures, Newmark’s competitors and RoboCop brokersHoward Lutnick talks bank failures, Newmark’s competitors and RoboCop brokers
Commercial
Los Angeles

First American suffers cyber attack, potentially delaying deals 

Title company shuts down its website and some systems in sector’s latest recent hack

First American Suffers Cyber Attack, Pausing Deals
First American's Kenneth Degiorgio (First American Financial, Getty)

First American Financial suffered a cyber attack on Thursday morning, forcing the title company to shut down its website and some of its systems.

The company confirmed the attack in a website update for customers. It’s unclear what systems the firm has shut down and the company did not respond to a request for comment. 

First American provides settlement services and title insurance for homebuyers, sellers, brokers, mortgage lenders and investors — essentially all the parties in a real estate transaction. The firm also handles foreclosure proceedings. 

Though the firm is headquartered in Santa Ana, it works to close deals across the country. 

Real estate players took to X, formerly Twitter, to complain about the shutdown on Thursday morning, with one user, who did not respond to a request for comment, saying closings for two deals were expected to be delayed until Dec. 26.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“My bet, deals won’t be closing until after Xmas,” another user posted on X on Thursday. “If you have an escrow set to close and title is underwritten by [First American] you will not be closing today.” 

The cyber attack marks the third to hit the title industry over the last two months. Fidelity National and Mr. Cooper both fell victim to cyber security incidents and are now facing separate class action lawsuits over the attacks. In the case of Mr. Cooper, data from almost 15 million current and former clients was exposed.

It’s also not the first cyber attack to hit First American. 

Last month, First American was ordered by the New York Department of Financial Services to pay $1 million to settle cybersecurity violations in New York, stemming from a 2019 breach. 

Companies and People
First American
Tags
BreakingBreaking Newscyber attack