CTS, a provider of IT services to legal firms ‒ including conveyancers ‒ was last week struck by a cyber attack. Around 80 legal businesses are believed to have been affected by the attack.
As a result, large numbers of potential property transactions have been frozen, leaving them in limbo. National reports found that Nationwide alone has 600 cases currently affected by the cyber attack, with thousands of deals overall likely in stasis.
The cyber attack has had a big impact on the property market, because without access to the CTS services, conveyancers have been unable to process key documents required by lenders, meaning funds have not been released and deals held up.
The BBC spoke to one vendor who has moved into rented accommodation after selling their home but being unable to complete on an agreed deal for a new property because of the situation. She said she had had no communication around when the deal could potentially go ahead.
CTS has said that it is working “around the clock” to restore services, but said it was “unable to give a precise timeline for full restoration.
It added: “We will continue to communicate directly with those of our clients which are impacted by the service outage, providing regular updates on the status of our work to restore services and our investigations into the incident.”
