Last Tuesday, Fidelity National Financial, commonly known as FNF, a prominent real estate services company and self-proclaimed "leading provider of title insurance and escrow services," announced that it had fallen victim to a cyberattack. As North America's largest title insurance company, the news sent shockwaves through the real estate and financial industries.
Since the announcement, homeowners with mortgages and prospective property buyers using FNF's services and subsidiaries have been left bewildered and anxious, grappling with uncertainty about the situation and the steps they should take.
As of the time of publication, FNF's website remains inaccessible.
Fidelity National Financial has provided limited information regarding the cyberattack. In a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where they disclosed the breach, 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."
Chortly after the cyberattack, the ransomware group known as ALPHV, or BlackCat, claimed responsibility for the attack in a message posted on their official dark web site.
Rebecca Moody, Head of Data Research at Comparitech, commented on the recent Fidelity National Financial cyberattack, saying, "Fortune 500 company, Fidelity National Financial, confirmed on Wednesday that a cyberattack had caused disruptions to certain FNF systems. [Thursday], ransomware gang, ALPHV/BlackCat, has listed FNF as one of its victims. In its listing, BlackCat claims it is giving FNF more time to get in touch with them before it reveals whether or not it has stolen any data."
If confirmed, this attack will join 22 ransomware attacks on US financial organizations this year alone. According to our US ransomware tracker, financial companies have had an average of 49,000 records impacted per attack. ALPHV/BlackCat is responsible for the largest confirmed breach which was carried out on Progressive Leasing in September 2023 and affected 193,055 records.
FNF will need to provide ongoing updates as to the scale of this attack, whether it was indeed breached by BlackCat, and whether not any data has been involved."
As the situation unfolds, homeowners, property buyers, and industry experts eagerly await further updates from Fidelity National Financial, hoping for clarity and resolution in the wake of this cyberattack that has left many in the dark.