An investigation by the BBC has uncovered that the recent cyber attack on the CTS conveyancing platform has adversely affected an extensive number of property sales, with Nationwide Building Society disclosing that 600 of its customers have been impacted by the delay in conveyancing services. This incident at the technology firm CTS has resulted in a significant backlog, with estimates indicating that thousands of real estate transactions are currently stalled.
Although CTS has not provided specific details about the nature of the issue or the total number of clients affected, a statement from Nationwide to the BBC implies that the figure could be in the thousands, affecting around 90 conveyancing firms.
O’Neil Patient, a major client of CTS, utilizes their platform for managing around 88,000 property transactions annually.
CTS acknowledged last week that they had encountered a system disruption due to a cybersecurity incident. They stated, “We are dedicating continuous efforts with the aid of external specialists to address this issue. Our commitment to restoring services is unwavering, but we cannot currently offer a definitive timeline for complete recovery. We are keeping in regular contact with our affected clients, updating them on our progress in service restoration and ongoing investigations into the incident.”
UPDATE ON RESTORATION EFFORTS
CTS has announced that its client services are operational once more. However, the restoration of ‘client environments’ — the various network connections the firm manages — is proving to be a complex and time-consuming phase in fully reinstating their services.
This cyber attack has significantly disrupted the workflow of conveyancers. The malfunctioning of the CTS platform hampers their ability to process essential documents needed by lenders to release funds, which is crucial for finalizing sales. Consequently, this has left numerous sellers and buyers in a state of uncertainty.
A feature on the BBC’s Money Box program highlighted the plight of a seller who had to seek temporary housing due to the inability to finalize the purchase of a new property. She reported receiving no updates from CTS regarding the status of their system recovery.
This incident mirrors a similar cybersecurity breach in August 2022, which targeted a major council’s property search IT system and took over eight months to resolve.
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