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Property firm cyberattack leaves home movers in the lurch

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Recently a group of conveyance brands was made the target of a cyber-attack, the outcome of which has left a multitude of home buyers unable to complete their purchases.

Simplify noted that parts of its business had fallen victim to a security incident involving IT systems that apparently stopped operating at the start of the week. Simplify owns brands like My Home Move, DC Law, and Premier Property Lawyers.

Simplify reports that it is working with a third-party cyber specialist to help restore its systems amid an ongoing investigation. Moreover, Simplify has also reported the incident to all relevant authorities. A representative from Simplify noted that IT Pro has managed to restore the company’s IT systems sufficiently to allow clients to proceed with their property moves. 

“The good news is that almost all contracted transactions with a fixed completion date are up to date,” noted the spokesperson.

Various home buyers took to Twitter to note the incident. One buyer stated that the company is yet to confirm whether access to data was enabled following the cyber-attack. As per the BBC, the Information Commissioner’s Office has been informed of the incident. 

Jason Greenwood also took to Twitter, noting that he was supposed to move two days prior and shared his current situation. “Life is in limbo and the back of a van, clocking up extra costs which will make me bankrupt,” he tweeted. He added that while he managed to complete a form as instructed by Premier Property Lawyers, the firm’s representative has been unable to offer him any further help as he cannot access his case files. Greenwood is a breakfast show DJ and producer with CVFMradio. 

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), the property law regulator, confirmed that the Simplify Group had notified them about the system outage. The CLC further noted that the group had been affected by a security incident involving its IT systems.

A recent message posted on the Premier Property Lawyers website revealed that the Simplify Group had been working 24/7 to restore operations. Efforts to do so included carefully bringing systems online as part of a secure phased approach and finding workarounds to complete transactions safely.