People Can't Pay Their Mortages Due to Cyberattack at This Texas-Based Lender

Mr. Cooper, a mortgage lender with over 4 million customers, locks down access to its website, citing a 'cyber security incident.'

A cyberattack at a major mortgage lender in the US is preventing users from paying their dues. 

On Thursday, mortgage lender Mr. Cooper began notifying customers about a mysterious “cyber security incident” that was affecting the company’s IT systems. In response, Mr. Cooper has temporarily locked down access to its website — the same portal that customers can use to pay their mortgages. Otherwise, they have to mail a check the old-fashioned way.

Texas-based Mr. Cooper serves over 4.1 million customers, and has become one of the largest non-banks serving mortgage loans in the country. For homeowners, the good news is that Mr. Cooper doesn’t plan on penalizing users over the access troubles. “Rest assured, you will not incur any fees, penalties or negative credit reporting related to late payments as we work to fix this issue,” the company told customers in an email. 

(Credit: Mr. Cooper)

Still, a lot about the attack remains unknown, including whether the hackers stole sensitive information. In an FAQ, Mr. Cooper says it first detected the attack on Tuesday, Oct. 31, which prompted the company to initiate the lockdown. 

“We are actively investigating this event to determine if any data has been compromised. If customers are impacted, they will be notified and provided with identity protection services,” the company added. But it didn't say when it expected the site will return to normal operations.

The incident also underscores the disruptive impacts from today’s cyberattacks, which often involve hackers spreading ransomware to company systems, which can encrypt fleets of servers. The same hackers can also resort to stealing data and threatening to publish it online, unless the victim company pays up. 

So far, Mr. Cooper hasn’t said if it’s been the victim of ransomware attack. We reached out to the company for more details and will update the story if we hear back.

Source